Disappearing
by DeluluandOroro Platoon
Summary: Continuation of Gone; Keroro's platoon gets an invitation to a private, artificial island;only to discover that it's a trap. They are forced against each other, and the insanity threatens to take them all prisoner. An Ororo & Rieko production
1. Chapter 1

In the skies above Japan, invisible to the normal human eye, was a large green airship with a gold star and the letters KRR on its side. Inside it were five Keronians, one Angolian (who was in her human form), and four humans. But the aliens inside weren't focused on the conquest of Earth…

"Vacation time, desu!" Tamama sang out as he munched on a bag of chips. He was in one of the three pilot seats; the other two were manned by Kururu and Angol Mois. The others were standing around the area of the main cockpit.

Koyuki was sitting on her knees on the ground, with Natsumi in front of her with a first aid kit. Natsumi finished putting a bandage on Koyuki's left cheek, covering up a long scratch. "Koyuki-chan, how did you manage to get this cut?" Natsumi asked.

"I was hit by a shuriken," Koyuki said, smiling. (_Why are you smiling about that? _Natsumi thought, sweat dropping.)

Dororo was standing next to Koyuki, looking up at her with concern. "Does it hurt, Koyuki-dono?"

Koyuki turned to Dororo. "Nope, I'm fine." Koyuki's bright smile made Dororo blush a bit.

Keroro opened up a small refrigerator and pulled out two six-packs of Coca-Cola. He walked up to Natsumi, Koyuki, and Dororo. "Anyone thirsty? This Pekoponian beverage is delicious, de arimasu!"

"No thanks," Natsumi said, waving the offer away.

Koyuki took a can. "I don't think I've ever tried this before. What is it?"

Natsumi gaped at Koyuki. "Y-you've never tried soda before?" she asked in shock.

Koyuki popped up the tab, and smelled it as it bubbled up. She took a sip. "M-my nose feels funny!" she said, holding her nose with her free hand.

Natsumi chuckled. "That happens sometimes. You'll get used to it."

Koyuki held the can up at eye level. "It does taste good, though…" She turned to Dororo, holding the can to him. "Do you want a sip, Dororo?"

He extended his hand, and then stopped. "Wait, but w-wouldn't that be…s-second-hand k-kissing…?"

Koyuki chuckled, and then kissed Dororo on the cheek. "It doesn't matter _that _much, does it?"

Dororo's face turned bright red. "E-e-eh?"

Tamama turned around in his seat to face Dororo, still munching on chips. "Geez, Dororo. If you get flustered from _that_, how do you expect to have kids?"

Dororo's eyes became large and distant. "Kids? But th-that would mean…"

_SPEW_

Everyone watched as Dororo's mask was stained red with his own blood—he was having a very bad nose bleed. He fell on his face, blood gushing through his mask and onto the floor. He was mumbling inaudible and random words to himself, and his eyes were completely blank.

"Dororo!" Koyuki cried out, shaking him. "Dororo, wake up!"

"What do you think he's saying?" Natsumi asked as Dororo kept murmuring to himself.

"In some ways, I don't want to know," Tamama said blandly, still eating chips.

Momoka and Fuyuki were standing near the window, looking out over Japan and not having any idea of what was going on.

"I'm so excited," Fuyuki said. "I wonder where we're going on our vacation? Oh, I hope we get to investigate supernatural stuff! Or maybe old ruins!"

Fuyuki rambled on like this for a while, and Momoka blushed scarlet at standing so close to him. _Why aren't you talking to him? _Her inner voice said, clenching her fists. _For God's sake, just say something! _Momoka couldn't think of anything to say, so she just stood silently and watched Fuyuki. This was one of the first trips she was going on without Paul following her everywhere.

Giroro sat a few feet away from where Natsumi was, polishing a wide array of weaponry. He looked up at Keroro with a scowl on his face. "Alright, time to talk, Keroro," he said, pointing the gun he was polishing at Keroro. "Where is this 'vacation' and who sent you the invitation?"

Keroro looked at Giroro. "The vacation we are taking is on an artificial island east of Japan, not seen by any Pekoponian before, de arimasu!"

Giroro had a pulsing vein on his forehead because of his anger. "Of course. Now, who sent—,"

The airship suddenly lurched, and those who weren't seated toppled over onto the floor. The next thing they knew, the airship was moving downward. Giroro, Dororo, Natsumi, and Koyuki were all close enough to the back of the pilot seats to grab on. Keroro was close enough, too, but he failed to grab on, and was pushed to the back wall with Fuyuki and Momoka. Momoka had found herself snuggled against Fuyuki's chest when they were on the wall, and she had spaced out into her imagination.

"Kukuku…it seems that someone hacked into the ship's systems," Kururu said, frantically typing on a keyboard. A few beads of sweat were forming on his forehead as he was trying to get the computer systems back under control.

"This isn't working!" Mois said, also clicking away at computer data. "You could say; big trouble?"

Tamama was trying to fix the computers, too, but just got angry at them. "Stupid system!" he said, pounding his fists on the keyboard.

Giroro looked up to where Keroro was being pressed against the wall. "Keroro, who sent the invitation?"

"Gero! It was from Pururu-chan! Sh-she said that her platoon was on vacation there, de arimasu!" Keroro answered, yelling so that everyone could hear.

"Kukukuku…the Garuru platoon isn't here, remember?"

Everyone except Mois, Tamama, and Momoka (she was still daydreaming) looked up at Kururu in shock.

"But!" Dororo exclaimed, "Zoruru was here!" Koyuki noticed that Dororo's mask didn't have any blood on it; he had switched the mask with another when no one was looking.

"Kukuku…there were records of Zoruru coming, but not the rest of their platoon," Kururu replied, still in a typing frenzy. "And even if they did come, we could find where they are on Pekopon. But they aren't on any of the tracking devices."

Natsumi furrowed her eyebrows, equally annoyed at Kururu and Keroro. "If they aren't here, then who sent the invitation?"

The ship crashed in the middle of the island that was there destination, and a small explosion caused some of them to fly in the air and scatter.

/

"Koyuki-chan! Wake up, Koyuki-chan!"

"Koyuki-dono, please wake up! Koyuki-dono!"

Koyuki opened her eyes to see Natsumi and Dororo over her, both with concerned expressions on their faces. "What…happened?" she asked. She sat up, and saw that Giroro was there, too, a large laser gun strapped to his back.

"It appears that the explosion in the airship sent us here," Dororo said. "The airship isn't too far away; we'll start to head over when you're ready."

Koyuki felt her head throbbing. _I must have hit it on a rock or something,_ she thought, rubbing the back of her head.

"We should be careful at all times," Giroro said. "This 'vacation' must have been a trap, so this is a matter of survival."

Natsumi helped Koyuki stand up, and then started walking towards what looked like a small pillar of smoke in the distance—where the airship had crashed. "We should start heading over there now, if we want to make it before night fa—,"

Before the other three could react, a large and dark mass came from the treetops and hit Natsumi in the face. She took in a giant breath of air as if to scream, but no scream came out. Instead of splattering like water or sticking to her like goo, the substance seemed to dissolve into her. Natsumi collapsed onto her knees, and then fell forwards.

"Natsumi!" "Nachii!" "Natsumi-dono!"

Giroro, Koyuki, and Dororo all ran to Natsumi in concern. "Natsumi!" Giroro cried out, shaking her shoulder. "Natsumi, please!"

Koyuki was shaking her other shoulder. _What on earth _was _that…?_

"Koyuki-dono!"

Koyuki felt herself get pushed to the side by Dororo. When she looked to him, another dark mass headed right for where she once was from behind—and to where Dororo was now. The substance dissolved into his back just as it did with Natsumi, and when Koyuki fell to the ground, Dororo landed on top of her, unconscious.

"Dororo!" Koyuki exclaimed, sitting up and lifting up Dororo. He was still unconscious, and his eyes were blank. "Dororo…please, wake up…"

Koyuki heard Natsumi stand up next to her. She looked up to her friend, relieved she had awoken, but this little piece of happiness was wiped away instantly when Koyuki saw her. Natsumi looked limp, and her head hung on her chest, her face shrouded in shadow.

Giroro stepped back, looking up into Natsumi's blank face. "N-Natsumi…?"

Natsumi looked at Giroro, but it wasn't Natsumi anymore. Her eyes had turned gray, and she had no emotion at all. She had a long stick in her right hand, as if to use it as a weapon.

Koyuki jumped in surprise when Dororo leapt out of her grip and was floating in midair a few feet in front of her. His eyes had turned a dark gray; not just the pupil, but the entire eye. His katana was drawn, but he looked limp, like a puppet on dead strings. Koyuki stood up. "Doro…ro…?" But he was unresponsive. "What's wrong with them?" She asked Giroro, still looking at Dororo in terror.

Giroro was staring wide-eyed at Natsumi, who was staring back at him with those cold, gray eyes. "They're being controlled somehow!"

Dororo flew forward in a flash, almost stabbing Koyuki with his drawn katana. She jumped to her right, so that she was standing back-to-back with Giroro. Dororo appeared in front of her, his katana hanging by his side. Natsumi was standing in front of Giroro, holding the stick menacingly and standing a battle posture.

"We need to get them back!" Koyuki said to Giroro, beads of sweat forming on her face.

"Right," Giroro said, readying his laser gun. Beads of sweat were on his face, too. "I'll handle Natsumi, you handle Dororo. Got it?"

"Right!" Koyuki leapt up high into the air and landed behind Dororo, who turned around and slashed his katana at her, only to see that no one was there. He looked down to see her crouching on the forest floor. "I'm sorry!" Koyuki jumped up to punch Dororo in the stomach, but he moved out of the way. She landed on a low tree branch in a crouching position, breathing fast. "Wh-where…?"

Dororo appeared behind her and used the dull edge of his katana to knock her out of the tree and onto the ground. Koyuki landed right on her face and skidded for a short distance before finally stopping, coughing up dirt and blood. Dororo was floating above her, holding the katana above her neck.

/

Giroro stood up, his legs shaky and aching. He didn't ever want to hurt Natsumi, but this time, she wouldn't be returning the favor to him. She kicked him in the face once he had stood up, and Giroro went flying into a tree. Sliding down the tree, he had a memory; Natsumi breaking through all the traps he had set with a leek, sending him flying through the window…

_That was the day we first met…_

Giroro stood up, only to find himself flying backward into the tree again. Natsumi had pinned him up by the neck, and he couldn't breath.

_I have to…get those good days back…_

Natsumi's eyes were not the beautiful caramel colour that Giroro had been bewitched in on numerous occasions; they were a cold, stony grey, and Giroro felt the eyes look through him.

_It's…not her…_

"Natsumi!" Giroro cried out, and he found the strength to pry her fingers off of his neck. He fell to the forest floor, gasping for breath, glad to still be alive. His happiness didn't last for long, when a burst of white light enveloped Natsumi. Giroro shielded his eyes, the other hand against the tree. When the light faded, he was able to see that Natsumi was in a white and blue powered suit.

"Wh-what?" Giroro exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes getting larger. "No way…!"

Giroro was expecting to die, when suddenly Natsumi turned her head over her shoulder. She turned around and flew away, a blur in the distance. Giroro fell to his knees. "Natsumi…"

He looked over and saw Koyuki sitting up, wiping blood from her mouth. The entire front of her outfit was covered in dust, and she was covered in bruises.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Giroro ran up to Koyuki, worried for this girl that he knew almost nothing about, other than she was friends with Natsumi and she lived with Dororo.

Koyuki looked up at him, despair in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine." She turned to the directon where both Natsumi and Dororo had headed to, frowning. "What…what's going on?"

Giroro looked in the same direction. "I don't know. We shouldn't follow them; we've been weakened as it is. We'll try to find the others first, and see if they know anything."

Koyuki made a silent wish for Dororo to be safe, and at the same time, Giroro wished the same for Natsumi.


	2. Chapter 2

The cockpit of the airship was full of smoke and dust. When Mois and Tamama came to, they were both coughing and wheezing. Kururu had not been knocked unconscious, and was busy typing on the one large computer monitor that had not been destroyed. The ship was in two pieces; one the remainder of the cockpit, the other the tail end of the ship. The middle had been destroyed entirely.

"Tama!" Tamama exclaimed after a few moments of coughing up smoke. "Where are the others, desu?"

"Kukuku…They should have listened to the old 'wear a seat belt' rule. They were blasted away in the explosion. Kukukuku…"

"Oh no, Uncle!" Mois said, exasperated. "Where is he?"

"I'll try to track everyone down. In the meantime, you two should see if the hovercrafts are still intact. We're going to need them. Kukukuku…" Kururu was still paying full attention to the computer screen, which appeared to have a GPS view of Earth (or Pekopon). "Also, take one of the wrist communicators. They might come in handy. Kukuku…"

So, Tamama and Mois headed out of the back of the cockpit, where there was forest floor until it reached the other end of the ship, that was about a hundred metres away. On the short walk over, Tamama felt as if it was a very long walk. _Why oh why did I get stuck alone with this stupid stupid woman?_

In the rear end of the airship, it was divided into two segments; one that was in a strong airlock compartment and remained intact, and one that was connected to the compartment that was destroyed by the explosion that occurred inside of it. Tamama struggled with the large turning-lock of the vault before losing his temper. "TAMAMA IMPACT!" A large hole formed in the door, and went right through the centre of the airship. The four hovercrafts that were inside were all destroyed.

"Um…You could say, overdone?" Angol Mois said, a bead of sweat on her face.

Tamama turned to her with bulging eyes of anger. "ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU COULD DO BETTER?" Mois took a few steps back in shock, but Tamama continued on. "YOU FOOL OF A WOMAN! GUNSO-SAN IS MINE, YOU HE—,"

A movement behind Tamama caused him to stop and turn around. Nothing was there, but he still felt as if he was being watched…

Tamama looked down at a small TV-style wristband on his left arm. It was the wrist communicator that Kururu told him to take with him. He pressed a small red button, and Kururu appeared on the screen, looking as devious as ever.

"What is it now?" Kururu was not even looking at Tamama through the screen, because he was looking at the GPS on the computer monitor.

"The hovercrafts were destroyed, desu…"

"Well, that's a shame. Kukuk—,"

Kururu was stopped mid-laugh when what looked like a large, dark mass collided with the back of his skull. The mass seemed to dissolve into his head, and then his head crashed onto the keyboard.

"Kururu!" Mois exclaimed; Tamama hadn't noticed that she was peering over his shoulder to look at the wrist communicator. They both watched as Kururu's head lifted back up, but there was something wrong; the lenses of his glasses were now a murky grey colour, as if they had been covered up with polluted water. Kururu emitted a small chuckle, and then pressed a button on the keyboard. The screen of the wrist communicator went black.

"Wh-what's going on?" Tamama said, his eyes wide. He was repeatedly pressing the button to reconnect the communication, but the screen stayed blank.

"Look out!"

Tamama shouted out in surprise as Mois knocked him to the ground, and a red blur passed right over them. Squinting to get a better look at it, Tamama realized it was the red collar that Natsumi would wear to activate the powered suit…but why would Kururu send that out?

"Get off me, woman!" Tamama said, getting extremely mad. He pushed Mois off of him, and saw that tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. _Good, that'll teach her._

Tamama ran into the rear end of the airship to see what remained after the impact he sent off. There were some odd guns of all shapes and sizes strapped to the walls, but nothing else.

"I-I don't think I should transform…"

Tamama turned around to see Mois standing in the opening, looking nervous and scared. "And why should I care?"

"Well…what happened to Kururu…" Mois looked down at the blackened floor of the airship. "I-I've heard of it before."

"Tama?" He looked up at her with wide eyes. Then, he got angry. "So, what happened to him?"

Mois crossed her arms so that her hands rested on the opposite arm. "The dark…thing…that got to him…it possessed him. I've heard of this event before, and if they know that I'm really an Angolian…"

"P-possessed, desu?" Tamama's eyes were no longer full of anger; they were now reflecting fear. "In that case, just grab a gun from in here and use that."

Mois looked at a wall full of guns, before taking one. It was a small, red and white gun, with what looked like a yellow nozzle at the end. "What is this one like?" she said, holding it up towards the opening at the back. "You could say; I shoot?"

"Wait, don't! That's—!"

But Mois pulled the trigger. Because she didn't have much experience with firearms, the multicoloured laser that came out of it hit the metal wall and was reflected off. That was when it hit Tamama.

Tamama opened his eyes, feeling heavy. His head hurt. When he put his hand on his forehead…_Hair?_

Mois looked in shock at the boy sitting on the ground where Tamama had stood before. He had black hair and large purple eyes, and was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with slightly puffy sleeves, black cargo shorts, and black knee-high hiking boots. The odd boy looked up at Mois in equal shock.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed at last, dropping the gun. "Where did Tamama go?"

"I _AM_ TAMAMA, YOU STUPID WOMAN!" he shouted, the pupils of his purple eyes dialating.

"Ah…you are?" Mois said, taking a step back. "You could say; very confused?"

Tamama looked at the charred floor, and saw his cap next to him. He took it and put it on; it was a perfect fit. He stood up, looking at his current form. _Stupid woman… _Tamama thought, gritting his teeth. _Why can't I just get rid of her now?_ A sudden thought occurred to him, and he pictured his beloved sergeant: _"You killed Mois-chan? How could you? I'll never talk to you again!" _Tamama shivered at this thought, and decided to not kill her.

Mois and Tamama both jumped when they heard the loud roar of an engine. They turned around to see that the cockpit area of the ship now had rocket boosters on it, and that it was flying up and away.

"Where is it going?" Mois said, beads of sweat on her forehead.

Tamama looked at her, only to realize that he was now taller than her. _Take _that_, woman! _He looked back up at the sky. "I don't know, desu…"


	3. Chapter 3

"Nishizawa-san! Nishizawa-san!"

_That voice…is it Fuyuki-kun?_

"Nishizawa-san!"

Momoka opened her eyes, trying to remember where she was. _I was on a trip…with Fuyuki…_ Her face turned bright red when she saw that Fuyuki's face was right above her own, his blue eyes shining. "Fuyuki…kun?"

"I'm glad to see you're awake, Nishizawa-san!" he said, smiling sweetly. Momoka's face turned an even brighter red. "You were knocked unconscious by the explosion…I was really worried."

"E-explosion…?" _Right, the airship…but now, I'm with Fuyuki-kun… _

"_Don't you get it?" _The alter-ego part of her screamed. _"Now's your chance to confess your love to him! Don't waste your time, you know how bad your luck is!"_

"Come on, Nishizawa-san," Fuyuki said, taking Momoka's hand to help her get up. "I think I know where the others are."

Momoka felt her heart pound at the touch of Fuyuki's hand; but at the same time, she felt uncomfortable. _Something's not right…_

"Um…Fuyuki-kun…"

"Hm?" Fuyuki turned around, a slight smile on his face. His grey eyes had a look of mischief in them, and Momoka immediately looked away. _Grey…?_

"Oh…it's nothing." Momoka looked at her hand, which was still clasped in Fuyuki's, and let him lead her on. Suddenly, she was inside a large, dark room. "Eh? What's going on?"

"We've walked through an invisibility shield." Fuyuki turned around, his eyes looking black in the darkness. "We couldn't see this place from the outside, but we can see everything inside."

"How do you…?" Momoka froze when she saw a large gun being pointed at her, inches away from her face. The holder was shrouded in shadows, impossible to see. They pulled the trigger, and Momoka shrieked as she was enveloped in a bright light. She opened her eyes, surprised at still being alive. But when she looked next to her, she saw her alter-ego—they had separated them.

"What's going on?" Momoka said. "What happened, Fuyuki-kun?"

"He's not Fuyuki Hinata."

Both Momokas turned to the voice of the person in the shadows, and then watched as Fuyuki melted away, transforming into a mass of darkness.

"You bastards!" the other Momoka shouted, raising her fist in anger. "What the hell is going on here?"

There was no answer from the dark mass or the shadow man. Instead, the mass flew into Momoka's alternate personality and dissolved into her, making her collapse on the ground.

"No!" Momoka screamed, watching the person she was closest to fall. This was the person she had always known as strong, reliable, and brave; now, that very person was torn away from her and defeated. Momoka herself was now feeling defeated and powerless, too. She turned to where the man in the shadows still stood. "P-please, don't hurt her!"

"I won't hurt her. And I won't hurt you; that is, if you do as I say."

Momoka saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and when she looked up, she saw that the other part of her was now standing. Her eyes were now a dark grey, and her body seemed limp and lifeless, despite the fact that she was standing. In a flash, Momoka felt the other her smash her upside the head.

The world became black and painful.

/

**Records, Day 94:**

**New Hostages:**

**Station 1: Pekoponian #25, Keronian #5**

**Station 3: Pekoponian #24**

**New Recruits:**

**Pekoponian #26, Pekoponian #27, Keronian #6, Keronian #8**

**Locations of others:**

**Pekoponian #28: Unknown, most likely with Keronian #7**

**Pekoponian #29: Unknown, most likely with Keronian #9**

**Keronian # 7: Unknown, most likely with Pekoponian #28**

**Keronian #9: Unknown, most likely with Pekoponian # 29**

/

"_Nishizawa-san! Please, wake up! Nishizawa-san!"_

Momoka opened her eyes to see Fuyuki's face over hers, his eyes wide with concern. _"Fuyuki-kun? Or are you…that other thing…?"_

Fuyuki furrowed his eyebrows. _" 'Other thing'? What do you mean, Nishizawa-san?"_

She sat up, and realized that they were in a space that with just empty darkness. The only things in it were her and Fuyuki…but the other part of her wasn't there to urge her into confessing her feelings to him. Momoka had never felt so empty inside. Not only that, but her stomach felt hollow and heavy, and her head felt like a railroad spike had been shot into it. Any other day, she could call upon one of her trusty maids to get her the best doctor in the area, or at least some bottles of good medicine. But here, it was just her and Fuyuki, alone. _"Fuyuki-kun, do you know where we are?"_

Fuyuki looked at his hands, which were folded in his lap. _"I have no idea, Nishizawa-san…I just woke up here a while ago. But I think that maybe, just maybe…this might be a dream."_

Her eyes widened, and she looked directly into Fuyuki's nervous, confused face. _"A dream? So is this _my_ dream, or _yours_?"_

He looked at her, his eyes wide as well. _"I thought this was _my _dream. But maybe…we're both dreaming this?"_

"_We're sharing…a dream…?"_ The sound of that made Momoka's heart flutter like a butterfly, and for a moment, she couldn't feel the pain in her head. _"Fuyuki-kun, there's something I…I want to…"_

"_What is it?"_

Momoka felt like a rock was in the pit of her stomach, and her head felt light. _"I want to tell you that…I…" _She sighed, looking down at the dark ground. _"You are…one of the closest friends I have, Fuyuki-kun…thank you."_

Fuyuki looked confused for a moment, and then smiled. _"I feel the same way about you, Nishizawa-san. So there's no reason to thank me."_

Momoka felt herself blush. Even if Fuyuki might never love her, she never wanted this friendship to end.


	4. Chapter 4

Dororo stood in the darkness, feeling it press against him, embracing him, strangling him. _Where am I?_ His body felt light, weightless, but it felt like he was being held up by some invisible force above him. He tried to step forward, but he could not move at all. The marionette strings would not allow it. It was the strings that controlled him, not the other way around. All that Dororo could do was be suspended in the darkness and accept the cold and the loneliness.

_LANCE CORPORAL DORORO OF PLANET KERON_

"_Wh-who is that? Who's there?"_

_IT IS US. WE WOULD EXPECT YOU TO KNOW US._

Dororo felt his stomach churn. _"I don't know you." Or do I…?_

_YOU DO KNOW US. WE ARE NOW A PART OF YOU._

Dororo fumbled, thinking for words, but none came to mind. Finally, he said, _"What do you want from me?"_

_THAT IS SOMETHING WE CANNOT SAY._

He tried to move, tried to escape from the bonds that held him. _"Koyuki-dono…! Koyuki-dono! What have you done with her?"_

The darkness retreated, and Dororo was seeing through the eyes of another. From behind, he saw Koyuki crouching on a tree branch, looking around. He watched as the person he was raise a blue arm, which held a small katana. The dull edge of the katana hit Koyuki, and Dororo watched her fall to the ground. And he saw himself hold his own katana over her neck.

"_No…No! Koyuki-dono! No!"_

The vision ended abruptly, and Dororo's head was spinning. The marionette strings loosened just enough to let him pull off his mask before keeling over and vomiting. It was disgusting, it was painful-

_It's what I deserve…_

-and Dororo, who had been sickly his entire life, had never felt as terrible as he did now. And all the while, he was crying. He was crying for his pain, crying for being trapped, crying for his sin—crying for Koyuki.

He felt the bonds tighten again, and he could barely even move enough to continue crying. He looked up into the darkness, into the invisible faces of the puppeteers. _"What have I done? What did you do to me? Why did you make me…make me…"_

There was no answer.

Dororo looked down and cried silently. He didn't even notice that he was falling as the bonds let him go. And when he fell on his back, looking up into the nothingness above, his tears had dried out—but he felt so empty.

"_Dororo."_

He blinked and saw Koyuki above him, looking down at him. _"Koyuki…dono?" _Koyuki's face got closer and closer to his own, and Dororo felt numb as he stared into Koyuki's eyes _(like a snake being hypnotized by a snake)_, watching them get closer to his own _(THAT'S NOT HER, IT'S NOT KOYUKI!)_, before rolling away. He sat up, sweating and panting, staring at the imposter.

"_Dororo, what's wrong?"_

"_You're not Koyuki-dono!"_

Dororo watched the fake Koyuki give an evil grin and dissolve into the darkness to rejoin the puppeteers. The world became darker than ever.

/

Koyuki sat infront of the small fire that Giroro had set up. She hugged her knees, watching the yellow and orange flames flicker and jump. _Nachii…Dororo…_

Meanwhile, Giroro sat with his back to the fire, polishing his gun with a small, greasy rag. He and Koyuki had barely even spoken to each other, but one thing was clear; they were both worried sick about Dororo and Natsumi.

A rustling noise came from the bushes in front of Giroro, who immediately stood up and held the half-polished gun in that direction. Koyuki stood up as well, her fists clenched. "Who's there?" Giroro said, gritting his teeth. "Show yourself!"

A young boy with large purple eyes and a yellow cap tumbled out of the bushes, falling on his face. On top of him landed a girl with blonde hair and a tan, looking confused. "GET OFF ME!" the boy shouted, pushing the girl off. He stood up and dusted off his shirt.

"I'm sorry," the blonde girl said, also standing up. She put her hands behind her back. "You could say; accidentally tripped?"

Giroro and Koyuki looked at the scene with puzzled expressions. "Angol…Mois?" Giroro said at last, lowering his weapon.

Mois and Tamama both looked up to where Giroro and Koyuki were, and both of their expressions turned a bit brighter. "Giroro! Koyuki!" they shouted in unison, and they rushed over to the campfire. Tamama knelt down next to Giroro. "I sure am glad to see you, desu—I _hate_ that woman…" his eyes shifted over to Mois, who was looking into the fire, unaware of what Tamama was talking about.

Giroro looked at the mark on the boy's cap, then looked into his face. "Tamama?" he asked. When the boy nodded, Giroro was more confused than ever. "But…you're…how…?"

Tamama's expression transformed into one worthy of a demon. "IT WAS HER FAULT! WHY WOULD GUNSO-SAN GIVE SO MUCH ATTENTION TO A WOMAN AS STUPID AS HER?"

Giroro recoiled, taken aback by Tamama's sudden outburst. Then, he let out a deep breath. "We'll be sure to return you to normal. Maybe, if we find Kururu…"

"Kururu's gone."

Giroro looked up at Tamama, whose face had lost all emotion; it was just the face of a weak, tired boy. "What? What do you mean?"

Koyuki and Mois had both looked away from the fire to Giroro and Tamama. Koyuki had a look of surprise on her face at first, but it soon faded into worry. Mois had an almost unreadable expression; it was fear, worry, loss, and sorrow all rolled into one. But there was one difference in their expressions: Koyuki's expressed the thirst for knowledge, while Mois' was that to never know again.

Tamama looked at the tops of his black boots. "Kururu was possessed somehow…and we don't know how to bring him back, or even where he is, desu…" Giroro and Koyuki glanced at each other, each knowing that the other's expression was the same as their own. Tamama saw this, and looked from one to the other. "What's going on? Is there something else wrong?"

Koyuki looked at the boy, and he could see her sadness. She looked into the orange flames of the campfire. "Nachii and Dororo…they where both somehow 'possessed' as well…"

"Tama?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. Cold sweat formed on his face. _This happened to the others, too? But then…_ "What about Gunsou-san? And Fuuki and Momochi? What happened to them, desu?"

Giroro, who had sat back down continuing to polish his weaponry, was the one who answered. "We don't know what happened to them."

Mois straitened her posture as worry grew in her. "We need to find them! What if Uncle is in danger? We need to make sure they're okay!"

Giroro glared up at Mois. "How are we supposed to do that when we're injured?"

Tamama looked at Giroro and Koyuki more carefully, to find that what Giroro was right. They were both covered in dark bruises, cuts, and dirt. Koyuki's face looked especially terrible, with a few flecks of dried blood in the corners of her mouth and purple bruises swelling around her right eye. For the first time that day, Tamama was able to see what the pair was really feeling: exhaustion and pain. "What happened to you two, desu?"

Giroro didn't say anything. Koyuki looked at him for help, and then looked back into the campfire, her eyes glazed over with tears. "When Nachii and Dororo were taken over, they tried to…to…" Koyuki couldn't find the strength to talk anymore, and buried her face in her arms, curled up into a ball.

Tamama understood what she was trying to say.

/

Natsumi hung spread-eagle in the darkness, a lifeless form on marionette strings. Her caramel eyes were empty and lifeless, and her chest rose and fell as she took rattling breaths. Doctors would call the state that Natsumi was in "emotional shock", and why wouldn't they? She had just seen herself hurting Giroro.

_Why why why must you torture me like this why?_

Natsumi had tried to fight her way out of the darkness, and as the invisible strings got tighter, she fought harder. She thought her problems were over when the darkness receded, but that was when the real danger had begun.

_Why would I do that? I nearly _killed _him, why would I _kill _him?_

Natsumi didn't even notice a single tear fall down her face and descend into the never-ending darkness. She only noticed when she began to fall with it, into the depths of her own nightmares. Stopping was something Natsumi had never expected; stopping in someone's arms came as an even greater shock.

"_The famous Natsumi Hinata…I am finally given the honor to meet you."_

The figure's arms wrapped around Natsumi from behind so that she couldn't see the face of the speaker. The voice brushed against her ear and made her shiver, feeling icy chills go throughout her body. The arms drew a bit tighter around her, and Natsumi wanted to escape. The marionette strings wouldn't allow it.

"_Tell me, Natsumi Hinata, you are feeling sad, aren't you?"_

_I am I am, but why should I tell you if you're a stranger? Who are you?_

"_Natsumi Hinata, all of your questions will be answered in due time. So please, be patient for now."_

_Patient my ass! I want the answers now, I want to get out of here, so let me go. LET ME OUT!_

Natsumi felt the figure chuckle in her ear, and her entire body felt cold. _"You really are commanding…but I'm sure you never get what you _really _want, will you?"_

She felt her entire body tense when she realized that these words were true. Her entire life, she had taken care of others, even if it meant sacrificing what she had wanted.

"_So tell me, Natsumi Hinata…what do you want?"_

_giroro…_

Natsumi was surprised at what her first thought was, and rejected the idea, only to have it brought back into play by the mysterious figure that was holding her.

"_Giroro…and by that, I would assume you mean Corporal Giroro of Planet Keron, correct?"_

_(yes) How do you know him? What have you done with him?_

"_Nothing, nothing at all. I fear that my time here is running short, Natsumi Hinata. I must soon take my leave. But I can assure you that I will have your dream come true…"_

She felt relief come over her as the figure let go of her. But when she turned around to see who the mysterious person was, there was no one there. All that was there was a red apple on the ground. Natsumi bent over and picked it up, remembering that she hadn't eaten for what felt like centuries. The apple looked so perfect that she couldn't resist taking a bite. And when Natsumi swallowed, she felt enlightened to a fact that she knew applied to everyone, especially herself:

If you follow what the marionette strings tell you to, the puppet show becomes a lot more fun.

And Natsumi played a star role.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why is there nothing here?" It was clear to everyone that Giroro was getting annoyed as the four walked along. They hadn't come across anyone, and the sun was almost at its highest point in the sky. The four had stepped into a wide clearing, in which all that was there was dust.

Koyuki looked forward with a slight frown. "This is suspicious…"

Mois pointed a finger in an upward direction, a habit she had come across while stating the obvious. "You could say; not quite right?"

Tamama put on the bravest face he could. "I'm going in," he said, taking a step forward. He took a second step, third, fourth…and with the fifth step, he vanished. It wasn't like watching a picture fade out or seeing water evaporate. One moment he was there, and the next he wasn't.

The other three gasped, and Giroro ran after him, pulling his gun out in the event of a trap. After a few steps, he vanished as well. Mois gasped again, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. Koyuki grabbed one of her hands to lead them both in. Mois said nothing, but Koyuki could tell that she didn't want to disappear as well. Koyuki stepped inside, and Mois stayed outside, staring at the area where her hand should have been, but wasn't. She gulped, and stepped in after Koyuki.

All that was left was four sets of footprints.

When Koyuki and Mois stepped inside, they looked around in wonder. Although the area was dimly lit, they could still make out the figures of large pieces of machinery. The area itself seemed to be shaped like a large dome. Tamama and Giroro were also looking at the odd room in wonder.

Koyuki turned to the place where the four of them had come from, but just saw a solid metal wall. She went to put her hand against it, but it went right through to the other side instead. Pulling it back in, the hand seemed perfectly fine.

"Hey! Over here!"

She turned around at the sound of Tamama's voice, and saw the outline of him standing quite far from where he was before. He was standing in front of rows of white metal capsules, big enough to fit a person into, lying down in strait aisles. The other three rushed over toward him, looking at the capsules in wonder. "Wh-what is this?" Koyuki wondered aloud.

"Uncle!"

Tamama, Giroro, and Koyuki turned at the sound of Mois' cry. She was standing over a capsule not far from them, looking into a small window built into the lid. Tears were forming in her wide eyes. "Uncle…Uncle!" The other three rushed over to her, and stared into the window she was looking through. Inside was the face of Keroro, his eyes closed in a peaceful sleep.

"Gunso-san!" Tamama could hardly believe what he was seeing. In a state of shock, he turned around with his hands wringing in exasperation. His eyes fell on the window that showed the inside of the capsule he now faced; it was the soft face of sleeping Momoka. He was now so shocked with relief and worry, he couldn't move.

Giroro took his gun and pointed it at a lock on the capsule that Keroro was trapped in; with one shot, the lock was broken. He turned to Mois. "Come on, help me open this." Mois wiped the tears from her eyes and knelt down to help Giroro open the lid to the capsule.

Koyuki looked in some of the other capsules. The first few were all empty, and she was about to give up when she saw a face in one of the capsules. She looked in and saw a girl about her age, maybe younger, with her messy brown hair pulled back with a black hair band. She had pale skin, and despite being asleep, she looked tired with the shadows under her eyes.

Tamama, Giroro, and Mois were all gathered around Keroro, who was beginning to stir. Tamama heard him mumble something, and then Keroro grumbled, "Five more minutes, de arimasu…" Giroro pointed the gun right between Keroro's eyes and pulled the trigger. After the small cloud of smoke drifted away, the charred Keronian was wearing an afro, over-dramatic tears of pain stinging his open eyes. "I-I'm awake, de arimasu…ow…"

Momoka sat up in her open capsule, rubbing her head and blinking her eyes. "What…what happened…?"

Tamama turned and smiled at his friend, rushing over to her side. "Momochi! You're okay!"

Momoka looked up at him with puzzlement. "T-Tamama?" Her puzzlement grew more obvious when he nodded at this.

Giroro looked over in surprise when he heard Koyuki call his name from a few rows of capsules away. He ran over to her, leaving Mois and Tamama to take care of Momoka and Keroro. Giroro looked up to the capsule, not tall enough to look through the lid window. "Is there someone inside?" Koyuki nodded, and he stepped back to shoot open the lock. It was harder to open this capsule lid; it hadn't been opened in a long time.

By the time the other four had gotten to the unopened capsule, Momoka and Keroro had gotten over the shock of Tamama's new form, Mois' tears of relief had dried, and the ashes and afro had been cleared off of Keroro. Giroro and Koyuki were still struggling to open the lid, and it wasn't until Tamama and Mois started to help that the lid was opened.

Cold air slipped out from the capsule, making the hair on Koyuki's neck stand on end. The girl inside shuttered from the sudden temperature change, rolling onto her side. Koyuki was sure that whoever this girl was, she had been asleep for a long time—how long was unknown at the time. The girl's hair was tangled, and her breathing had been slowed to an almost dangerous pace. She wore an orange short-sleeved turtleneck and brown cargo pants, and her sneakers looked old and worn out.

Keroro jumped up to hold on to the edge of the open capsule, allowing him to look in. "Ah…who is this?" he wondered aloud, but no one answered. The girl's brown eyes flickered open, and she looked at the faces of these total strangers surrounding her. Of course, her gaze mainly fell on Giroro and Keroro. It was obvious that she, along with nearly all the rest of the human race, had never seen a Keronian before.

"Are you okay?" Koyuki asked the odd girl. "What's your name?" The girl didn't answer either of these questions; she didn't even look at Koyuki. Instead, she just sat up in the capsule, rubbing her eyes that were swollen with sleep. She slung a leg over the edge of the capsule, and everyone stepped back to give her room, watching her closely. She put her foot on the floor, and then the other. When she put her weight on her feet so she could stand, she stumbled for a few steps before having her face planted on the floor.

Just then, Giroro heard a noise behind them. When he turned around, nobody was there—but he still couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched. "We should get going," he said. Giroro, Tamama, Keroro, Momoka, and Mois all headed towards the seemingly metal wall and disappeared through it. The odd girl was still trying to stand up, but her legs were numb and useless after her long slumber. Koyuki knelt down so that her back was in front of the girl, who looked puzzled.

Koyuki smiled at her over her shoulder. "Get on my back, I'll carry you," she said. The girl wasn't making eye contact with Koyuki, but nodded anyways, and climbed on. _Was she…looking at my lips? _Koyuki thought, but she shrugged it off and stood up, carrying the girl easily and following the others.

/

Another fire was made, and the seven unfortunate travelers were gathered around it in a circle. Keroro and Tamama were complaining about being hungry, Mois was debating on looking for food for Keroro with the risk of getting lost or staying here with her uncle, Momoka was unusually silent, and Giroro was polishing his firearms again. Koyuki had tried to start conversation with the mysterious girl, but she hadn't responded to anything; she just watched the fire, the flames reflecting in her large brown eyes.

Koyuki had eventually lain down on her back, looking up at the clouds as they drifted past. They seemed so peaceful up there…She suddenly felt someone tap her shoulder. She sat up and saw the odd girl looking at her, and she started making odd hand gestures that looked like a sort of sign language. Koyuki cocked her head to the side, showing her puzzlement, and the girl stopped moving her hands for a moment. She grabbed a stick nearby, and used it as a pencil in the dirt:

_My name is Miyuki Ki. I am a deaf-mute, but I can read lips._

Koyuki felt her face flush with the embarrassment of the realization of why the girl never talked to her. She also realized that everyone else was crowding behind her and Miyuki to read what was being written.

_Who are you, and what's up with the frog-things?_

Miyuki looked up and looked at Koyuki, as if waiting for an answer. "My name is Koyuki," she started, "and the others are Mois, Tamama, Momoka, Giroro, and Keroro. Giroro and Keroro are aliens known as Keronians…Tamama is one as well, but he somehow turned into a human."

Miyuki nodded, and continued to write.

_Are there any more of you, or have they been taken as well?_

Koyuki felt a pain go through her heart at the memory of Dororo being taken by that…thing. She inhaled to calm herself before answering. "The other four of our companions have been taken…three of them were possessed by something, and we don't know where the other one is." Koyuki could tell that Momoka was getting tense at the thought of Fuyuki being gone, and Giroro was trying to hide his worry for Natsumi. Keroro was also taken aback by his best friend's absence.

_Have you seen anyone else here?_

When everyone shook their heads, Miyuki cast her eyes down, biting her lip. She twirled the stick in her hand, as if she didn't know what to write next. After a few seconds, she started to write again.

_My father and little sister were possessed by some odd black masses. My mother and I were captured and separated, and when I arrived at that lab place, I was knocked out. After that, I remember talking to my mother in my dreams sometimes…but it wasn't like a normal dream. It was like I was actually talking to her._

Momoka clenched her teeth as she felt her blood run cold. What Miyuki had gone through sounded like her story as well; captured, knocked unconscious, talking to others in dreams…the similarities where uncanny.

_But sometimes, I couldn't talk to my mother, because I would be trapped inside nightmares._

Everyone there felt a chill go down their spines at that one word: nightmares. And they all had one question in mind; what kind of nightmares? Without having to be asked, Miyuki started to write the answer.

_A mysterious man would come to me. He must have been a demon of some kind. He would promise to give me voice and hearing if I pledged allegiance to him. But that wasn't even the weirdest part about the dreams._

Giroro clenched his fists, a habit for if he became nervous at all. "What was the weirdest part of the dreams, then?"

_I could hear him talking._


	6. Chapter 6

Darkness, emptiness, eternity—Kururu found none of these factors in the new world very surprising. Being bound up by invisible strings wasn't surprising to him, either. Even the sheer fact that there was nothing at all wasn't a surprise. What came to Kururu as a surprise was when an odd man appeared. He was dressed like any man you might pass on the street: old shoes, dark jeans, button-up shirt. But when in a dream, when your mind makes up people and shows you projections of them, you can remember everything about them except their face.

The man that now stood before Kururu never showed his face, like in a dream.

"_Sergeant Major Kururu of Planet Keron, I presume?"_ the man said, hands in his pockets.

Kururu chuckled. _"Are you making this out to be a casual conversation?"_

The man laughed coldly. _"Perhaps I am, Sergeant Major. May I also presume that you have pieced together almost everything that is currently happening?"_

Another chuckle escaped Kururu. _"Just about. I'm not stupid like the others, you know. I make it my business to know. And as far as I know, this is not real."_

The laugh that escaped the mysterious man wasn't cold this time; in fact, it sounded almost genuine. _"You are a smart one, Sergeant Major, and I'm glad I didn't underestimate you. In that case, I would like to listen to your theories and see what parts of the puzzle you have actually fit together."_

"_Kukuku…I don't know if I would call this a 'puzzle', it seems much too simple. This, right here, is deep inside the subconscious state of mind. I must commend you for finding the perfect place to hold someone captive: right where they are more willing to give in to outside forces, and where emotion overrides logic." _He let out another snicker before continuing. _"Since I am trapped so deep inside the subconscious, my actual self is either asleep or under the control of an outside force. Judging from that, you are probably either trying to conquer through sleep or through the control of the physical being, like a puppet. It seems that I have competition for taking over Pekopon. Kukukuku…"_

All the while, the man was listening with crossed arms. After hearing Kururu's explanation, he laughed loudly, almost maniacally. This annoyed Kururu, and he gritted his teeth, listening to the laughter echoing through the darkness. Finally, gasping for breath, the man seemed to calm just slightly. _"My my, you really are the genius! Nobody's figured it out that fast before! The last one took three days!"_ The man started laughing again, and Kururu felt like yelling and swearing at him. The laughter came to an abrupt stop, and the man regained posture. What he said next was in a tone that was dripping with anger and death. _"Don't you ever think that because you've solved the puzzle, I'll let you out. Being a genius isn't going to do anything for you, Sergeant Major."_

Kururu didn't react at all to the man's sudden change in personality. _"Kuku…you did say I was a genius, so don't you think I would have realized that wouldn't help?"_

/

_I could hear him talking._

This statement had puzzled the six who read it, and caused a long and confusing discussion on what could have possibly caused it. In the end, nobody had come up with an explanation except Keroro, and everyone refused to believe that the island was a virtual reality game (except for Mois, but she's not your average person when it comes to Keroro). In the end, the debate was put to an abrupt stop by Momoka, who brought up a very interesting question; How would they find any food?

Koyuki led Momoka, Miyuki, and Tamama to a small stream that they were able to hear from their camp. The kunochi waded into the shallow water, stood still for a few moments, and in less than a second she had obtained three fish in each hand, each only about six inches long. Trying to teach the others how to fish without a rod would be difficult, she knew that—it had taken her several hours to master this when she lived in the ninja village. But still, there was nothing to loose at this point, and a few extra hands would be very helpful, even if her new pupils each caught only one fish. Miyuki was a fast student, and caught her first fish on her fourth try. She seemed rather proud of this, especially since her fish was nearly ten inches long. Tamama got very frustrated after failing on his second attempt and used his Tamama Impact on a section of the stream, sending stones and small fish flying to shore. Koyuki was pleased with the large catch, while Miyuki was dumbstruck with surprise. Everyone would have expected Momoka to snap eventually as well, but they didn't know that the Dark Momoka had been separated from her and possessed.

All in all, their fish dinner may have not been a five-star meal, but it was filling.

/

"Momochi? Are you alright, desu?"

The sun was starting to set, and only a few hours worth of daylight remained. Momoka had wandered off a little ways, and Tamama went after her. He had found the sad girl sitting on a large grey rock, her legs dangling over the edge. Momoka looked up at Tamama, who had clambered onto the rock and was standing behind her. She tried to smile. "Yes, I'm fine…don't worry about me, Tamama-chan."

Tamama sat down beside her, knowing that the girl he had come to know as a friend was not okay. As a Keronian, Momoka always seemed to loom over him, but now as a Pekoponian, he was even taller than her. Which made her seem even smaller and more fragile than ever. "Momochi, are you sure you're alright? You didn't get mad once, not even while fishing."

This was meant to be a joke, but Momoka's expression grew even sadder. "That's because…she's gone."

"Tama?" Tamama nearly fell off the rock at this statement. "What do you mean by that, nano desu?"

Momoka hugged herself, as if trying to keep warm. "That man. He did it. He somehow separated the two of us, and had her possessed as well." Tamama didn't know what to say to this or how to comfort his friend, so they sat in silence for a few minutes until Momoka spoke. "Have you ever…heard of Roanoke, Tamama?" Tamama shook his head, and Momoka continued on, looking into space. "Fuyuki-kun told me about it. A long time ago, in North America, a small group of settlers from Europe formed a village called Roanoke. But after a few years…everyone disappeared."

Tamama felt his stomach sink as he bit his bottom lip. What was Momoka trying to accomplish in telling him this?

"There was no trace of war or conflict, and there were no clues to where they possibly could have gone…except one. On a tree in the center of the village, a word had been carved into it…Croatoan. Nobody knows what it means."

"But, Momochi, what are you trying to say?"

Momoka turned to Tamama, her eyes filled with tears. "They disappeared without a trace! And so have us two, and Fuyuki-kun, and everyone else on this island! So what's next? Villages? Cities? Countries? It will all be gone, and nobody will ever know how!" She buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

Tamama had no idea of what to do at a time like this. So, he did the only thing he could think of; stay next to her to let her know that he had not disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7

Fuyuki Hinata had no idea where he was. All he could remember was the airship crashing, and feeling himself fly into the air. After that, he couldn't remember anything at all. But sure enough, here he was, in a place that he felt he had seen before, but couldn't place it. The skies were cloudy with the threat of rain, and the humidity was unbearable. The entire area was a clearing, surrounded by forest, as if civilization was supposed to be here—only it wasn't. A few small buildings had been left untouched, while others looked almost entirely destroyed. There were some places where it looked like a building had been there, but now there was nothing. And in the very middle of the clearing was an enormous tree, standing out against the emptiness that was in that dead place.

A loud roll of thunder was heard from overhead. In an instant, rain started pouring down from the skies. Fuyuki stood shocked in the rain for a moment, and then covered his head with his arms and headed to the closest and most promising shelter: the tree.

Fuyuki sighed, sitting with his back against the tree. _"What is this place? Where is everyone?" _He shuddered as the feeling of paranoia washed over him; although the clearing was deserted, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him.

"_The weather on the Atlantic coast is dreadful, is it not?"_

Fuyuki jumped at the unexpected noise, and looked everywhere for who could have been speaking. Finally, he looked up into the branches of the large tree. A few feet up, directly over Fuyuki's head, sat a large white cat with enormous grey eyes. Fuyuki jumped up and backed away, making sure not to leave the tree's protection. _"A talking cat? What's going on?"_

The cat chuckled, and Fuyuki felt his blood turn cold. _"Is it wrong for a cat to speak its mind? Oh, you have much to learn about life, Fuyuki Hinata."_

Fuyuki froze. _"How do you know my name?"_

"_Oh, I know much more than your name." _The cat stretched out, revealing its sharp claws, and started to jump down the branches of the tree. _"You are friends with Keronians, and some even live in your own home. You have an amazing older sister, Natsumi Hinata, who is outstanding in athletics and school. You, on the other hand, aren't as great as her, and are often stuck in her shadow. Oh, come now, get that confused look off your face, you know it's true. But you are still very gifted, Fuyuki Hinata. You can see things that others cannot, you think in a way entirely different from others, and most of all, you want to know. That is something that not many people wish for. It makes you…special."_

Fuyuki felt anything but special. He wanted to get away from the tree, away from the deserted village, but most of all, away from that damn cat. But for some reason, his legs felt frozen stiff, and moving his eyes away from the gaze of the cat was impossible. _"I don't know what you're talking about. So now, I would like some answers; where am I?"_

The cat was perched on the bottommost branch, its tail swinging like a pendulum, back and forth. _"I thought you would have figured it out by now, but I suppose not. Take a look on the other side of the tree."_

Fuyuki was relieved of being excused from the cat, but the terrible feelings all came back when he followed the cat's instructions and went around the tree. On the bark of the tree, carved at eye level, was one word written in large, sharp letters:

CROATOAN

/

Night had fallen, and the sky was full of stars. Miyuki sat on the bank of the stream, looking up into the sky. She remembered when she was little and she hadn't learned to write, trying to ask her mom what stars were. Until she found out, she had always thought the night sky was a big blanket put over the Earth when it was time to sleep, but the blanket was worn out and formed many small holes, letting in small streams of light. Miyuki hugged her knees into her chest when she remembered her mom explaining what stars really were; she wanted her mom so badly right now…

Miyuki's thoughts were interrupted by a poke on the shoulder. She jumped and looked next to her, relieved to see it was just Koyuki. The kunoichi smiled. "We should go to sleep soon, we need a lot of rest for tomorrow."

Miyuki looked at Koyuki in confusion. It was almost like Koyuki was excited for the next day to come, which Miyuki found very puzzling. She traced her finger in the dirt, writing a message to Koyuki.

_I'm not very tired. I've been sleeping for days, after all._

The kunoichi smiled. "Then you can be on guard duty!"

The next thing Miyuki knew, everyone at the camp was fast asleep, leaving her alone to watch out for anything suspicious. She sighed, doodling in the sand. It was going to be a long night.

/

Dororo stood in the middle of the street, drenched in the rain. No cars, no buses, no people—this was highly unusual for a city such as Tokyo. The Keronian didn't even know what he was doing here, or how he got here, or how he could leave. You could say that he hated this place, but really, it was that he was afraid of being here.

The ninja turned around immediately when he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He put one hand on the hilt of his katana, ready for anything. But instead of seeing someone who would attack him, Dororo saw a young boy. The boy looked about eight years old, and wore all black, with strands of black hair covering his eyes. A black umbrella shielded him from the pouring rain, and in his left hand he held an extra black umbrella. The boy stopped in front of Dororo, and held out the umbrella so that the handle was pointed towards Dororo.

"_Take this,"_ the boy said. _"If you don't want to catch a cold, you should protect yourself from rain."_

Dororo found himself letting go of his katana and taking hold of the umbrella. Before he even got a chance to thank the boy, the umbrella turned into a large snake, its eyes glowing red. It curled itself around Dororo's entire body as he screamed, feeling himself become constricted in its scaly grasp. The snake took advantage of Dororo's fright, lunging itself at his face. The snake tore through Dororo's mask, and the ninja's screams of horror and pain were stopped as the snake slid down Dororo's throat.

The young boy in front of Dororo smiled evilly. "Welcome to hell, Lance Corporal Dororo."

/

Miyuki jumped when she saw something moving in the bushes next to their camp. She gulped, hoping it was just a wild animal of some sort. She tiptoed to the bush, her heart thudding in her chest. Parting the leaves, Miyuki's eyes widened. She grabbed what was there and ran to Koyuki, shaking her awake. It took a while before Koyuki sat up, grumbling. She looked at Miyuki, noticing the fear in her eyes. "Miyuki-chan, what's wrong?"

Miyuki thrust out what she was holding, and Koyuki's expression turned to one of both puzzlement and fear. Miyuki was holding a black and white fedora, her hands trembling. The mute girl still held the hat as she wrote a shaking message in the dirt.

_This belongs to Cho-nee._

Koyuki turned her head to look up into a tree behind her, where some leaves were rustling. Miyuki followed her gaze and saw a girl standing on a tree limb. The girl had brown matted hair and wore a T-shirt and cargo pants, her feet bare and dirty. The girl's eyes were stone grey, and an insane smile had formed on her lips. As Miyuki stared in fear at her younger sister, Cho snickered.

"Found you."


	8. Chapter 8

Giroro jumped awake when a large crash was heard next to him. He instinctively grabbed his gun and pointed it at the spot, his finger on the trigger. His actions stopped when he saw that the cause of the noise was Koyuki crashing against the ground, sending up clouds of dust. Giroro coughed the dust out of his lungs as Koyuki stood back up, holding her right arm, which had been badly grazed at the impact. He looked up to see a girl about eleven years old standing in front of them, swaying lightly on her filthy bare feet. Giroro could tell that not only had this girl been possessed, but she also had gone insane.

"Go wake up the others," Koyuki said. Giroro looked up at her and saw a determined smile on her face. "I can handle this one; but there's bound to be more coming, so we'll need as many people as possible."

Giroro nodded and turned away from the continuing battle of Koyuki and the other girl. He ran to where the others were sleeping—'the others' being Mois, Keroro, Tamama, and Momoka. He grumbled and shot Keroro in the face a few times, the impact causing him to wake up, and the loud gunshots causing the other three to wake up. Keroro let out a whine as he rubbed his afro. "I prefer eggs and coffee for my wake-up call, de arimasu…"

"No time for that," Giroro replied, and Keroro looked around. Koyuki was battling an odd girl who looked like she hadn't bathed for days, and Miyuki…where was she?

Keroro jumped when he finally spotted her, sitting with her back against a large tree. She appeared to have been trying to clean a fresh wound on her shoulder, not that it helped at all. The wound was deep and blood seeped freely from it, already forming a small puddle on the forest floor. Keroro ran over to the mute girl, his afro gone. "Miyuki-dono! Are you alright?" She nodded, but it was clear she was in much pain.

"Miyuki-chan! What on earth happened?" This time it was Momoka who was worried. Before Miyuki was even able to start explaining the cause of her injury, Momoka tore off the hem of her skirt and used it as a bandage around Miyuki's arm.

Tamama and Mois looked around nervously. _There are other presences surrounding us…_Tamama realized. He turned around just in time to dodge a kick from a light blue Keronian with a raindrop symbol on his grey hat and stomach, and freckles on his cheeks. "T-Taruru?" Tamama exclaimed as he looked the Keronian over. It was Taruru, but at the same time it wasn't; the grey eyes were proof enough. Tamama gritted his teeth. _Great, now I have to deal with this kid…_He turned to see Mois just standing there, a puzzled look of wonderment on her face. Tamama felt his eye twitch. "What do you think you're doing, woman? Go, now!"

Mois nodded and ran. "Good luck, Tamama!" he heard her yell at him over her shoulder. Tamama ignored the comment and turned back to Taruru just in time to block a series of punches. _Damn it…with him under that thing's control, he's gotten even stronger than before! _The fact that Tamama was now a Pekoponian didn't help him much, either. He weighed more than before, which meant that he was slower. He also found it harder to balance without a tail. Taruru had jumped up into the air and Tamama aimed a roundhouse kick at him, only to find himself being knocked flat on his back. He had to roll out of the way in order to dodge a laser beam that Taruru sent, causing a crater to be formed where Tamama was lying only seconds ago. The ends of Tamama's black hair had been singed, along with the edges of his yellow cap. He felt his teeth grind together as his expression hardened. "This battle is so damn annoying! TAMAMA IMPACT!"

/

Angol Mois felt bad for leaving Tamama behind, but she knew he'd be fine. Changing into her Angolian form would be near suicidal, and she didn't have any weapon besides her Lucifer Spear, so running was about all she could do for now. Mois came to a halt when she heard the crashing of trees from behind her, and turned around. It was Kururu's airship, in very bad shape, but working nonetheless. Kururu's laugh could be heard from deep inside the airship, only it now sounded even colder and more malicious than before.

A determined frown formed on Mois' face as she looked at Kururu's air ship. _If I can't help anyone else…then maybe I can help Kururu, and _he _can help…_She nodded, and started to run full speed at the air ship.

/

Kururu was still suspended in the darkness, and still alone. Not that he minded too much; being alone meant he could think and experiment, so in a sense, being alone became a hobby of his. Also, while he was alone, it meant that that annoying, arrogant guy couldn't bother him. His previous few visits had all consisted of questioning, mockery, and that annoying damn laugh of his. It was a laugh that echoed all throughout the darkness, so that multiple small clones of the laughter would keep on coming.

The darkness seemed to get thicker by the second, and now it almost seemed like syrup. Kururu could tell that the darkness was taking on a form of matter and was wrapping itself around him, and he could tell what was going on. Since he was now trapped in his own subconscious, the congealing shadows were trying to trap him there. If he got trapped there, it would only be a matter of time before he was driven even madder than he already was.

Kururu chuckled. _"Let's just see how this will turn out. Kukukukukuku…"_

/

Mois coughed as she entered the smoke-filled airship, and looked around with her hand covering her nose and mouth. The place was a mess, and almost everything was destroyed. Up ahead, a soft blue light lit the otherwise dark room. The silhouette of a large chair was in front of a large computer, and in the chair was Kururu. Mois frowned as she walked as quietly as possible up to the back of the chair. Cold sweat was starting to form on her forehead. She decided to arm herself, just in case he attacked her in his mad state, and picked up a large piece of scrap metal that was about two feet in diameter. She continued on toward Kururu, but was stopped when she stepped on a piece of glass. The crunching of the glass beneath her shoe caught the attention of the possessed Kururu, who immediately swiveled around in his chair. Mois gulped and took a step back when she saw Kururu; his glasses were still a murky gray colour, and his teeth were gritted into an evil smile.

Kururu chuckled and slammed his fist down onto a button on the arm of his chair. At once, a giant ray gun came from the back of the chair. Kururu pressed another button, and a burning red laser emerged from the ray gun. Mois shrieked, and instinctively used the piece of scrap metal as a shield, the only thing that came between her and her doom. The laser shot at her like lightning, but was reflected by the metal, like a beam of light reflected in a mirror. The red laser went right to Kururu, who had no time to react before the beam hit him.

/

Kururu felt the darkness melt away, only to be replaced by a burning feeling. He blinked, and in the next instant, all he knew was that a large red laser was coming at him faster than he could react.

/

Mois was thrown off of her feet when an enormous explosion occurred, and went sprawling on her back, the scrap metal lying beside her like a useless tool. She shook her head and sat up, to see the place where Kururu had once been completely obliterated. Mois looked around, only to find that Kururu was nowhere in sight. She didn't know what to do until she heard a muffled voice saying, "Megane, megane…"

She looked up to see Kururu smashed into a dent in the ceiling, his body covered in scorch marks. His glasses had shattered, and bits of glass were falling onto the floor. He moved his arm, only to immediately fall onto the floor, smashing his face into the ground. When he looked up, he had a new pair of glasses on, and he chuckled as he looked into Mois' face. "I'm not late for the party, am I?"

Mois' eyes filled up with tears of relief. Kururu immediately felt himself being pulled into a rib-cracking, lung-collapsing embrace—he wouldn't have been more shocked if Mois had smacked him upside the head. Not knowing what to do, he began to wriggle in her grip, the lack of oxygen turning his face slightly blue. "A-air! C-c-cant…b-breathe…!" Mois placed him on the ground, and Kururu took a few deep breathes, adjusting his crooked glasses.

Mois smiled at Kururu. "I'm so glad that you're okay! Now we need to help the others. You could say; rescue mission?"

/

Giroro turned away from Miyuki and Momoka when he heard many sets of footsteps coming from behind. There were about seven people behind them, all with dark gray eyes. There were two bulky men, one with a thick set of black hair, the other bald. There was a woman in a business suit, although it wouldn't be suitable to wear at work with all the rips and dirt in it. There was a young man in his early twenties, a baseball cap with the logo "Rico's Pizza" placed over his oily red hair. There was an old woman with frizzy gray hair, clad in a floral dress. The next person was one that Giroro recognized to be Dark Momoka, only now her strength was soaring through the roof. And the last person…

Giroro gulped when he looked into the menacing, shadowy eyes of Natsumi Hinata, the girl he loved.

Momoka stood up when she saw her double, feeling helpless and weak. She clenched her fist and brought it up to her chest, furrowing her eyebrows. _I have to show her…no, I have to show _myself _that I can be strong on my own, too! _Momoka stepped next to Giroro, preparing a battle stance. Beads of nervous sweat were forming on her brow. _The only way to restore myself is to defeat her…I have to do this!_

Momoka turned to Miyuki and Keroro, who were watching her nervously. "Keroro-chan, take Miyuki-chan and get out of here. Now, while you still have the chance!"

Keroro saluted and helped Miyuki to her feet before running off. Momoka turned back to her seven opponents, her lip quivering nervously. Giroro readied his gun, although he had no intention to kill.

Giroro and Momoka rushed forward. The battle had begun.

/

Koyuki jumped out of the way just as Cho drove her fist forward, driving it into a tree. A crack appeared in the wood, and blood started to escape Cho's knuckles. Koyuki watched in horror as Cho merely held her hand up in front of her face, grinning insanely. "Blood red is such a pretty colour…" she sang out, letting the blood dribble down her hand. Cho turned her head around so that she could face Koyuki, her grin broadening. "I wonder if your blood is pretty…?"

Cho lunged at Koyuki, who jumped out of the way and into a tree branch. Cho looked up at her, staggering at the base of the tree. "Why are you up there? I just want to play with you…"

Koyuki looked around for something that could be used to stop Cho from hurting anyone, without Koyuki having to hurt her. Koyuki's eyes fell on a long vine in the tree that she was in. She grinned and cut the vine with her small katana, and looked down at Cho. Koyuki jumped down from the tree, still holding the vine. In an instant, Cho was tied up almost entirely and hanging upside down from a tree branch. Koyuki dusted her hands off. "I'll have to keep you here until I think of what else to do with you, okay?"

Cho giggled as if Koyuki had just told her a joke. "Being upside down makes me dizzy when I get upright again, Koyuki…"

Koyuki took a step back, her breath catching. "How do you…who told you…?"

Cho laughed even louder, and her gray eyes shifted in all different directions as she spoke. "They told me…the shadows did…they told me _everything_..." Cho's eyes rolled in two different directions as she continued on. "How's Dororo doing, Koyuki…? Is he doing _welllllll_? He must miss you terribly…" The girl chuckled, and the laughter got louder and louder as she continued on.

"_THE SHADOWS HAVE HIM TRAPPED IN THERE, TOO!"_

Koyuki looked at the girl in terror before her rage took over. She grabbed the vine and pulled Cho forward, so that their faces were right in front of one another's. "Where are they keeping Dororo? Where is he?"

Cho's eyes rolled up so that only the whites were visible. "He's being held inside his mind…just like everyone else…"

Koyuki felt her hands shaking, and a pit had just opened in her stomach. It was just then that the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt someone breathing down her neck. She turned to face a boy only a few years older than her, holding a large tree branch over his head, ready to bring it down into Koyuki's skull. A gray blur passed by, causing to boy to be thrown over a few feet, the tree branch flying out of his hands. Koyuki's eyes widened as she saw who was now in front of her.

"Zoruru!"

The half-cyborg Keronian turned to face Koyuki. "I think I know where Zeroro is."


	9. Chapter 9

**Rieko: Hi, guys! Did you miss us?**

**Ororo: Sorry we haven't updated in a while, oro…**

**Rieko: Well, this SUPER-LONG, ACTION-PACKED, AND INSANITY-FILLED CHAPTER should make it up, oro!**

**Ororo: It's long. Seriously. Like, three times as long as the average chapter for this story.**

**Rieko: And this Authors' Note is only making it longer! Please enjoy, oro!**

While Giroro was taking down the other six people as Momoka was battling her other self. She felt bad to put Giroro in this position, but knew that she had to. She had to battle herself on her own.

But now, things weren't looking so good.

Momoka hadn't come to the island with weapons of any kind, not even her powered suit. This meant that her counterpart didn't have any, either, but this gave Momoka no advantage. Momoka knew that when she felt weak, or if she needed help, or if she was about to give up on something, her first resort would be to turn to her dark self. It had never shown her problems before; she could get along with her dark self rather well. Being able to know that she could rely on her alter-ego was the same as being able to rely on a close friend. But now it was that very same friend that had been stripped away and turned into a deadly foe. Momoka's mother had taught her much about single combat; Momoka had gotten strong, even if others thought of her as weak.

In truth, Momoka's darkness was what made her strong, and now she had been separated from the darkness and forced to fight against it. And Momoka was growing weaker by the second as she was mercilessly beaten.

Momoka attempted to block a punch to her face, only to have a foot meet with her stomach. She flew backwards, the wind taken out of her, and skidded in the dirt, the sleeve of her dress tearing. Momoka grunted as she sat up, spitting blood into the dirt beside her. She shrieked as she felt herself being pulled up by a fistful of hair, and looked with watery eyes at her foe—an almost mirror image of herself, but the exact opposite at the same time. Momoka coughed and could taste the blood in her mouth as she reached up to her counterpart's hand, clasping it in her own. The skin was cold, just like her eyes. "P-please…p-please, don't…" Momoka squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her counterpart's other hand close around her throat. She tried to breathe, but all that came was short, painful spasms of fire and ice. In one final attempt to save both parts of herself, Momoka wheezed, "Don't you remember…Tama-chan…and Fuyuki-kun…?"

The hand around her neck twitched slightly, loosening its grip. Momoka was amazed to find that she could, even if it was difficult, breathe again. Momoka opened her eyes to see that her counterpart's expression had softened, as if trying to remember something. "You do remember them, right…? Fuyuki-kun, and his sister…Tama-chan, and all of his friends…they're all _our _friends…"

In an instant, the girl's eyes went from a stone gray to a warm purple. She let out a gasp and dropped her counterpart, letting her crumple to the dirt. Momoka coughed and breathed in cool air, then looked up at her dark self. "You're back…" Momoka stood up and threw her arms around her dark self. "You're back!" Tears of joy and relief flowed down Momoka's face as she hugged her counterpart. The hug only lasted a second before Momoka's counterpart pulled her backwards. A glance behind let Momoka know that the dark mass had come out of her counterpart, and now it wanted to either get back in or kill.

Momoka wiped away her tears and got into a battle stance. "Say…remember that time that we were separated, but we got together again through synchronized swimming?"

Momoka's counterpart growled—she hadn't been too fond of that memory. "I get it. You mean that if we fight these guys together…"

The light half nodded. "We might come together again. It's worth a shot, right?"

The dark half smirked. "Sure!"

/

Giroro had taken down the five of them easily—the most difficult one was, surprisingly enough, the old lady—and they were all unconscious on the ground. It was impossible to tell whether or not they were still under the control of the dark masses, but Giroro assumed that when they opened their eyes, it would still be stone gray.

The problem now was that his opponent was Natsumi, the girl he loved. While Giroro was certainly strong, his only weapon was a single gun. Natsumi was, perhaps, stronger than Giroro, and had a full power suit to help her fight. There was something different about her strength now, though…It reminded Giroro of when Natsumi was first forced into wearing the powered suit, and how it changed her mind to attack anything that seemed hostile. She had been strong then, _too _strong, as if some part of her mind had been tapped and let out all of her inner strength. Something similar was happening now. Natsumi seemed to have boundless energy, and her attacks were stronger than ever.

They had only been in single combat with each other for a few minutes, but Giroro felt weaker than he had ever felt in his entire life. The only thing that kept him strong was the need to have Natsumi back, knowing that he might be the only one who could save her. Natsumi had been throwing, punching, and kicking him all over the place, and Giroro felt as though he could do nothing about it.

That is, until he remembered the password.

Natsumi had just punched him in the gut, sending him flying until his back hit a tree. He slid down, trying to find his breath. _Damn it…I need to find something to weaken her attacks so that I can get close to her…_ He looked up in time to see her pull a laser sword out, preparing to finally kill him. His eyes fell on her cold, stone gray eyes, and then on the collar around her neck. He bit his bottom lip as he was hit with a sudden idea. _A lot of her strength is coming from the powered suit she's wearing! If I can get rid of that collar…_ Giroro rolled out of the way as Natsumi plunged her laser sword at him, sending it into the dirt. He then leapt up to the closest tree branch and grabbed it, pulling himself up. Natsumi had been looking down to get her laser sword as her did this, so when she looked to where he had once been, she found him to be absent. Giroro inhaled before lunging at Natsumi, his hand outstretched to press the button on the collar.

Instead, when he jumped off of the tree branch, his foot slipped, making his jump go slightly off. He tumbled in midair until he was stopped by crashing into Natsumi in a most unexpected way—his lips crashed into hers.

Of course, this only happened for a short moment before Giroro continued to the ground. His mind had gone completely blank. He couldn't tell if he was hot or cold, his limbs felt detached, his lungs felt as if they had been stopped. All that Giroro could feel was the tingling sensation that remained on his lips as he sat in pure shock.

Natsumi stayed perfectly still, her face looking blank. She made no move toward Giroro, but her gray eyes seemed unfocused. Suddenly, her eyes closed, and she collapsed onto the ground with a slight sigh. If Giroro had been in full focus, he would have also noticed the black mass leaving her body; but all that he saw was Natsumi falling to the ground. His mind snapped back into focus. "Natsumi!" He ran toward her unconscious body, making sure that she still had a pulse.

Natsumi was muttering inaudible words, and her breathing was uneven. Giroro gulped as he tried to think of what to do. Suddenly, he felt as if an enormous rock had crashed into his back, and he let out a shout of surprise. The solid feeling then turned into a liquid, then a vapor, and his entire body felt cold. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground next to Natsumi.

A few minutes later, Giroro's eyes opened. His eyes were entirely gray, but something was different than it had been with Dororo or Kururu. Giroro had pitch black pupils, sitting in the gray like forgotten pebbles in a frozen lake. He stood up and rushed away from Natsumi, a mad grin forming on his face.

The darkness had captured another prisoner.

/

When Giroro opened his eyes a moment later, he found himself in a world of complete darkness. He tried to move, only to find that he had been bound up by an invisible force. What had happened…? Giroro gritted his teeth as he remembered. Natsumi collapsed, he didn't know what to do, then something crashed behind him, and his body went cold…

_CORPORAL GIRORO OF PLANET KERON. IT IS SO NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU._

Giroro jumped when he heard the voice. It seemed to be coming from all around him, as if the darkness itself was speaking. He gritted his teeth. _"And just who are you?"_

_WE ARE FRIENDS OF YOURS, OF COURSE. I SUPPOSE YOU COULD SAY THAT YOU AND US ARE…_VERY _CLOSE._

Giroro lashed out, the invisible restraints holding him back. _"Don't play dumb with me! You're one of those black masses, aren't you? The things that possessed Natsumi…!"_ There was silence as the darkness refused to answer. Giroro growled. _"What do you want from me?"_

_WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT _YOU _WANT, CORPORAL GIRORO._

Giroro did a double-back. _"Wh-what…I want…?"_

_YES, WHAT YOU WANT. YOU SEEM RATHER…FOND OF MISS NATSUMI HINATA, IF WE ARE NOT MISTAKEN._

Giroro felt his pulse stop at the mention of Natsumi's name. _"What have you done with Natsumi?" _he exclaimed, struggling against his restraints again.

_NOTHING AT ALL. TELL US; YOU DON'T LIKE SEEMING LIKE A FOOL IN FRONT OF HER ALL THE TIME, DO YOU?_

That was how Giroro felt exactly, but he stayed silent in complete denial of anything that the darkness said.

_YOU HAVE SO MUCH POWER…AND YET, THE ONES AROUND YOU HOLD YOU BACK. THEY _ALL _DO. THEY KEEP YOU BACK FROM EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE EVER WANTED._

Giroro couldn't decide if what was being brought onto the table was true or false. It was slowly spreading through his mind like a poison, and the more he thought about what was going on, the more he thought that the darkness was right.

_WE CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE GREATNESS, CORPORAL GIRORO. IF YOU JOIN US, YOU CAN DEFY ANYONE THAT HAS EVER HELD YOU BACK, AND YOU CAN TAKE BACK WHAT YOU ONCE HAD THAT WAS STOLEN FROM YOU. YOU CAN HAVE ANYTHING YOUR HEART HAS EVER DESIRED…EVEN MISS NATSUMI HINATA._

It was this last statement that let the poison seep entirely through Giroro's mind. Everything that the darkness said was true, the darkness' word was law, the darkness' word was _eternity_. Giroro welcomed the darkness like an old friend that was closer than Keroro or Zeroro, a brother more understanding and stable than Garuru. Darkness engulfed him, and Giroro smiled, his eyes captured by a mad glint.

"_I accept."_

/

Koyuki looked down at Zoruru with a mixture of worry, shock, and relief. "Y-You know…where D-Dororo is…?"

Zoruru turned away from her. "Yes. I will battle him and defeat him, while returning him to his normal state."

Koyuki bit her bottom lip. "If you battle him now and defeat him, it won't really be Dororo; it will just be…that thing inside of him." Zoruru said nothing to this, but instead started walking away from Koyuki. Without even thinking, she shouted out, "Wait! Take me to him!"

Zoruru stopped in his tracks and turned back to Koyuki. "I don't think you understand…this Zeroro is a much stronger, much more ruthless opponent. If you come, he won't recognize you, and might harm you as well. This is my battle, so stay out of it."

Zoruru turned to leave again, but Koyuki stopped him. "I _do _understand that Dororo is dangerous now…but that's because right now, he's the one that's in danger. I have to come with you to make sure that he's safe. So please, take me to him."

Zoruru didn't even bother looking up at Koyuki; the tremble in her voice let him know how worried she was for his opponent. It was true that Zeroro had become infatuated with this Pekoponian, and more likely than not, she felt the same way. Zoruru sighed. He'd never quite understand what "love" was all about. "Fine, you can come. But stay hidden, and no matter what happens, don't come near Zeroro."

Koyuki nodded, taking in every instruction that Zoruru had given her. Zoruru rushed off through the trees with Koyuki close behind, both eager to find the same person.

/

Miyuki was clutching her still bleeding arm as she walked with Keroro. It had gone numb a little while ago, and now Miyuki was starting to feel slightly light headed. She knew that she had lost a lot of blood, and the wound had even bled through Momoka's makeshift bandage until it was drenched. Right now, all that Miyuki wanted was to find someone, _anyone_, who could give her professional medical attention, instead of more infection-inducing, poorly made makeshift bandages.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a poke to her knee. Miyuki looked down at Keroro, who looked as though something had been troubling him. She cocked her head to the side as if to ask what was wrong.

"Miyuki-dono…" Keroro started rather nervously, "It's just…well…I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, de arimasu…" Miyuki stared at him silently, and Keroro continued on. "Where do you live in Tokyo?" Miyuki shook her head, saying 'no'. Keroro was confused until he realized that she meant that she didn't live in Tokyo. "Oh…odd. It's just that I feel like we've met before this, de arimasu…"

"Having a friendly little chat, are we?"

Keroro looked up to the source of the voice, and Miyuki followed his gaze. Although Miyuki could have sworn that nothing was there before, in front of them was a tall man wearing a gray button-up shirt, black slacks, and black dress shoes. His black hair came down past his eyebrows, and his skin was extremely pale, almost as white as a sheet of paper. On his face he wore a dark gray mask that covered his eyes, making his appearance even more mysterious. Next to him were two capsules that were identical to the ones that both Keroro and Miyuki had been placed inside. Keroro shivered at the sight of the man and used Miyuki's leg as a barrier between himself and the odd man. Miyuki stayed frozen stiff. She recognized this man from all of those terrible nightmares.

The man laughed. "Ah, Sergeant Keroro of Planet Keron, I assume? Yes, I have heard of your unusual cowardice that isn't usually found in high-ranking officers such as yourself."

Keroro immediately emerged from behind Miyuki's leg at this statement. "Don't you insult me! Tell us who you are, de arimasu!"

The man smirked. "My name has nothing to do with my business, Sergeant Keroro. As for my business, it cannot be revealed until a further time. But if you help me now, I can spare you some of the wait."

Keroro puffed up his chest. "You talk weirdness, de arimasu! Just what are you up to?"

The man sat on top of one of the capsules, and extended a finger at Keroro—or, more precisely, Keroro's stomach. Keroro blinked for a second before the odd man responded, "Give me the Keron Star."

Keroro jumped backwards, and looked up at the man. "Wh-wh-what do you w-want with the Keron Star? Actually, that doesn't matter, because I won't give it to you, anyways!"

The grin on the man's face grew into something more than just a smirk. Miyuki stepped back when she realized that the man's new smile was almost identical to Cho's smile when she had gone insane. "I think that you will give me the Keron Star. Because in these two capsules—" he patted the capsule that he was sitting on to emphasize his point, "—are your two good friends, Fuyuki Hinata and Chief Medic Pururu." Keroro gritted his teeth at this statement, his fists clenched. The man continued on. "Attached to each of these capsules are explosives that will go off with a mere snap of my fingers. If you do not give me the Keron Star, I will have no hesitation in slaughtering the two innocent souls in these capsules."

Keroro had a haunted look on his face. One hand was placed on his chest over the Keron Star; the other was hanging limply at his side. For the first time, Miyuki thought that Keroro actually looked weak, as fragile as a flower stem that could be snapped with the twitch of a finger.

This pleased the man in front of him, and his dark smile broadened as he extended his hand to Keroro. "So, what will it be?"

/

Koyuki had been following after Zoruru for a little while now, but she had lost track of him. This didn't please her all too much; loosing track of Zoruru meant loosing track of Dororo, and she wanted to prevent that under all costs. She had been trying to follow Zoruru's scent; when that had faded away, she used pure instinct. In some ways, she wished this was Tokyo, where you could just stand on top of a building or a lamp post and spot your target below. But this place was a wooded territory, where anything of the like would be impossible.

It was then that she heard the clinging of metal, only a little distance away. _That has to be them!_ Koyuki thought, and she followed the noise as fast as her feet would carry her. It only took a minute, but to Koyuki, every second dripped by like molasses in an hour glass.

Koyuki emerged into a small clearing, not even the size of a baseball diamond, which was surrounded completely by trees. She felt relief when her eyes landed on both Dororo and Zoruru, but the feeling lasted less than a millisecond. Just as she came into the clearing, Dororo struck his katana through the organic half of Zoruru's stomach. Tension clung in the air like icicles, and the few seconds before Dororo pulled the katana away from Zoruru felt like hours. Dororo just stood looking down at Zoruru, drops of blood dripping off of his blade, and Zoruru collapsed to the ground into a puddle of his own blood.

Koyuki's stomach clenched at the sight of Zoruru's blood. _That person is not Dororo anymore…Dororo would never do anything to harm anyone, even if they are an enemy…is there anything left of Dororo anymore…?_

Her heartbeat stopped entirely when Dororo's head turned to face her, his eyes still clouded over in a cold gray.

"…_this Zeroro is a much stronger, much more ruthless opponent. If you come, he won't recognize you…"_

Zoruru's words replayed in her head, and Koyuki realized that she might die at the hand of the one closest to her heart. Tears started forming in her eyes as she walked towards Dororo, her palms opened outwards to show that she had no intention to fight. "Dororo…do you remember me? It's me, Koyuki…"

Dororo kept staring at her with cold eyes, staying perfectly still. The puddle of blood that was coming from Zoruru's wound had extended far enough to reach Dororo, and he was now standing in blood. Koyuki tried to choke back tears, but they came pouring down her face. "Please, Dororo…I know that you can defeat whatever is inside you. You're strong…don't let it beat you…if you're gone, I don't know what I'll do…" More tears came streaming down her face, and she practically whispered her last sentence.

"I love you."

/

The red and black that was all that was visible to Dororo began to disappear, but that didn't make him any stronger. He coughed and hacked, trying to get whatever was inside of him out. He felt cold scales slide up through his throat, and he gagged as it came through the passage between his throat and mouth. Out of his mouth and between the shreds of his mask came the black head of a snake, snapping its jaws defiantly as it came into the light. Dororo squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to cough up the rest of the snake, writhing in pain as the snake squirmed inside of his body. While clutching his stomach with one hand, he took the other and began to pull the snake out, forcing it out of his body. The snake turned its head and began snapping at Dororo's arm, its razor sharp teeth causing blood to spurt out. Dororo's cries of pain were muffled by the remainder of the snake still in his mouth and throat, and he continued to pull the snake out as it demolished his arm.

Further, further…

Dororo had continued coughing without even realizing it. The taste of blood came into his mouth, and as he continued coughing, blood sprayed out in front of him, red droplets falling against the snake's black scales. His mask had been ripped entirely in half, and it fell off of his face and onto the ground, the grey cloth stained with red droplets.

Further, further…

The snake kept on piercing the skin of Dororo's arm with its massive fangs. He began to use both hands to tug out the snake, because his right arm—the one that was being torn apart—had begun to go numb. He knew that if any more of the muscles were torn apart, his arm would become completely useless, just a limp, deformed limb that was once an arm.

Further, further…

The tail—the very end!—of the snake was in Dororo's throat, now at the very back of his mouth. Dororo forced himself to dry heave in order to get rid of the snake and the blood. The snake came flying out in a blur of black, landing a few feet in front of Dororo. It snapped its jaws, its fangs stained dark red with Dororo's blood. Dororo choked out a splash of red, staining the concrete of the ground below, mixing in with a puddle of rain water…

Yes. This had been the place where Dororo had first met the boy with the umbrella, where he had first met the snake that had taken possession of his mind, body, and soul. The city was just as deserted, but it was no longer raining, although the air was damp and cold. The night sky had cleared, revealing a blood red moon overhead that sent a dim light over the dark world. Dororo let his right arm dangle at his side as his left arm wiped away the blood on his maskless face. The snake hissed, flicking out a red forked tongue. It wanted to smell Dororo's blood, it wanted to _taste _Dororo's blood. He pulled out his katana, holding it rather clumsily with his left hand.

The snake struck, and Dororo struck back.

/

Koyuki would have never in a million years ever expected what happened next. If anything, she expected Dororo to attack her and slaughter her without an ounce of mercy. What happened was nothing of the sort.

Dororo dropped his katana into the growing pool of blood, and clutched his head as he stumbled backwards. At first, he only emitted gasps of pain; in an instant, the gasps turned to whimpers, and then the whimpers into screams. He left behind red footprints as he stumbled away, and soon tripped over his own feet, falling to the ground in pure agony. Over and over again, he shouted out, "Get out! _Get out!_"

Koyuki watched in pure horror as Dororo was suffering. She didn't know if his repetitive cries of pain were directed at her or something that wasn't there. She ran over to him, accidentally splashing a foot into the still growing pool of Zoruru's blood. The red liquid sprayed her legs, but she took no notice as she approached Dororo. His still repeating shouts were now interrupted by violent coughing. Red spots began to form from the inside of his mask, and Koyuki knew that he was now coughing up blood. She couldn't move, or talk, or breathe—her horror had her trapped in a frozen world.

"Oh my, what a shame. He was my most promising follower, too."

Koyuki's head snapped up as soon as she heard the voice. A few yards behind Dororo stood a man with deadly pale skin and a mess of black hair. He was dressed like almost any other man that could be seen in Tokyo, except for a gray mask that covered his eyes. A frown creased his thin lips as he looked down at Dororo. "So much potential…Sure, his willpower made him difficult to control, but he still had so much potential." He grinned slightly as he extended his right arm out, like a child who would try to be an airplane. "I suppose I have no choice, though."

In an instant, the clean cloth and pale white skin of the man's arm morphed into an enormous black mass, wriggling and expanding until it was almost the size to be a complete duplicate of the man. Koyuki gasped, but the man made his move before she had time to react. The black mass morphed until it had a lance-like point at the very end, and then it shot full-throttle into Dororo.

Koyuki tried to scream, but nothing would come out of her mouth except for small whimpers. Droplets of blood sprayed out of Dororo's chest, much of it splashing right onto Koyuki. For a second, Dororo's eyes returned to their original form, the gray curtains rising away, but just a quickly as the grey disappeared, so did the life in Dororo's eyes. The black mass pulled itself out of Dororo and let him fall to the ground, a hole in his chest.

Koyuki stared down at Dororo's body, unable to move, or speak, or breathe, or think. All she could do was stare at the unmoving and bleeding body of the person who, not even a minute ago, she had just confessed her love to.

All of her emotion and pain came out in one word.

"_NOOO!"_

She felt something cold envelope her body. When she looked down, she saw that the black mass of the man's arm had now wrapped itself around her, creating an unbreakable prison.

The man gave a smile of the most unfathomable evil. "I think I'll take you with me, and spare you the pain of your _friend_."

Two black masses came out of the man's back, and they formed identical bat-like wings. The wings began to flap, and soon enough the man was flying out of the treetops, his dark mass arm dragging Koyuki along.

Koyuki struggled in the icy grip of darkness. "Dororo…! _DORORO!_"


	10. Chapter 10

**Rieko: So, um...how long has it been?**

**Ororo: A year, oro.**

**Rieko: A year? That isn't too long, right? ...no, it's long, oro.**

**Ororo: We'll try to wrap this story up quickly.**

Tamama looked down into the crater where Taruru was, knocked unconscious. He felt almost relaxed for a moment, until the black mass that had been inside Taruru escaped, since it now had an inadequate home. It immediately sprang towards Tamama. In a moment of sheer panic, Tamama let out another Tamama Impact. In the beam of yellow energy, the black mass disintegrated. Tamama was relieved until he saw Taruru, who was hit with the second laser, and now in even worse shape than before. Sighing, Tamama travelled down into the crater and picked up Taruru, slinging the light blue Keronian over his shoulder. He clambered out of the crater and, to his horror, saw the airship that they had arrived on.

Tamama gritted his teeth. _Damn, I have to deal with _Kururu_ now? _ It was hard to tell if his horror subsided or grew when Mois emerged from the airship, waving at Tamama.

Mois' smile was inevitable. "Tamama, I'm glad you're safe! Oh, is that Taruru? Bring him in here! You could say; healing station?"

Tamama felt his entire face twisting with irritation at _this woman_, but quickly ran towards the airship with Taruru's battered body. It was only then that he realized that there was hardly anyone else around. The battles that Giroro, Momoka, and Koyuki were fighting had led them off into the forest in different directions, as had Keroro and Miyuki's retreat. Pushing this thought aside, Tamama continued to run to the airship.

Once he was inside, he set down Taruru on the ground, and Mois and Kururu gathered around. While Kururu was chuckling at Tamama's new appearance, Mois looked down at Taruru with worry. "He looks really roughed up. You could say; a long recovery?"

Tamama snorted, half-amused. "Oh please. Taruru's tough, desu. He'll recover in no time."

/

The two Momokas jumped in unison to avoid an attack near the ground from the dark mass. They parted when the dark mass then made an attack in between them, and joined back together behind the mass. Just as the dark mass was preparing another deathly blow, both Momokas charged.

A great light engulfed them, and just as they were about to deliver an attack to the mass, they had become one Momoka again. With their strengths now combined fully, the final kick to the dark mass gave full damage, and it dispersed into nothing.

Momoka looked down at her hands, and then laughed with relief, seeing as she could not think of what else to do. "I did it," she said to herself. "We did it!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. Looking over, she realized it was Tamama, running towards the airship. With a smile on her face, she ran after him, arriving a minute later in the airship. In there, she found Tamama, Kururu, Mois, and an unconscious Taruru. They all looked up at her upon her arrival. Momoka smiled slightly. "Are all of you okay?"

Tamama jumped up and ran over to Momoka, hugging her. "Momochi! You're okay, desu!"

She smiled and returned the hug. "I'm glad to see that you're alright, too, Tama-chan." Momoka released the hug and turned to Kururu. "Is it possible for us to fly the airship and see if we can spot anyone?"

Kururu let out a small chuckle. "I don't see why not."

/

Keroro continued to stare at the man dressed in black, his hand resting on the Keron Star. He looked back and forth between the man and the capsules that held Fuyuki and Pururu, a look of pure horror on his face. Miyuki looked down at Keroro, trying to read his expression, trying to predict his choice. Finally, in one fleeting glance, Keroro looked up at Miyuki.

As impossible as it may have seemed at the time, Miyuki swore that although Keroro's mouth did not even twitch, his eyes smiled. It was almost as if, somewhere in that tiny brain of his, Keroro had formed a plan most mischievous in a split second.

Keroro turned back to the man, an expression of grief plastered on his face now. "It seems…that I have no choice…" he said hesitantly, both hands now on the Keron Star. Wincing slightly, he slowly took the Keron Star off of his chest. Holding it out to the odd man, Keroro said, "The Keron Star is yours. Now let my friends go."

The man's smile grew, if that was possible. "Most excellent." He took long and silent strides over to Keroro, taking the Keron Star from his hand. A cold breeze picked up as the man put the Keron Star in his pocket and bowed to Miyuki and Keroro. As he stood up, the man disappeared, just as suddenly as he had appeared.

"Pururu! Fuyuki-dono!" Keroro ran to the capsules and began to push open the lids, only to have to wait for Miyuki's help. The first capsule to open contained the small pink Keronian, who awoke in a fit of coughs. Fuyuki's capsule was opened next, but he stayed still.

Keroro patted Pururu on the back in an attempt to get her to stop coughing as Miyuki tried to shake Fuyuki awake. Pururu finally stopped coughing. "Keroro? What's going…" Her eyes fell on Miyuki's bleeding arm. "Oh my! Your arm has to be looked at right away, before it gets badly infected!"

At that moment, Fuyuki sprang up, causing Miyuki to jump back in surprise. "NONONONONONO! LEAVE ME ALONE, LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Keroro and Pururu leapt up and ran to Fuyuki, saying words of comfort to try to calm him down. Finally Fuyuki stopped screaming, and he just sat in the capsule, panting and sweating. "Gunso…wh-what….what…?"

Pururu crossed her arms. "We can talk about this after! Right now, that girl—" she pointed at Miyuki "—needs immediate medical attention!"

Fuyuki shook his head. "No, I was going to ask…" He pointed to Keroro's exposed stomach. "What happened to the Keron Star?"

There was a long silence as Keroro tried to figure out how to explain what had happened, Pururu and Fuyuki waited for an answer, and Miyuki just didn't talk. Through the canopy of leaves overhead, a cry was heard; "Land here! I see Uncle! You could say; rescue mission?" Kururu's airship crashed through the treetops and landed on the ground. Keroro, Pururu, Fuyuki, and Miyuki ran towards it an got onboard, greeted by the cheers of Mois, Tamama, and (in Fuyuki's case) Momoka. Pururu automatically set to work on Miyuki's arm with any materials necessary on the ship.

Keroro sighed. "A lot of us are here now, de arimasu! More problems have been solved, and—"

Fuyuki interrupted. "Not all the problems are solved yet! What happened to the Keron Star?"

Everybody (even Keroro) took a brief moment to blink at Keroro's bare stomach before he chuckled. "Some sketch ball threatened to kill you two," he gestured to Pururu and Fuyuki, "unless I gave him the Keron Star. So I gave it to him…or so he thought."

You could almost see the question marks popping over everyone's heads. Keroro walked over to Miyuki and held out his hand. "The Keron Star, please?"

Everyone was gawking at Keroro, even Miyuki. After a few seconds of a blank stare, however, Miyuki smiled in realization and reached into her left pocket. Sure enough, she pulled out the Keron Star, as clear as day.

Exclamations of surprise were heard throughout the ship, namely just "How did she get the Keron Star?". Keroro stood proudly, his chest puffed out. "When I was in the capsule earlier, I met with Miyuki in my dream! I didn't remember it until the strange man demanded the Keron Star, but I thought that the Keron Star wouldn't be safe with me, so…I left it with Miyuki."

Kururu chuckled. "So you exchanged a physical object while in a subconscious state of mind? Interesting…Hm?" Kururu looked into a computer screen with what could only be described as shock before landing the ship in a small clearing.

Fuyuki blinked. "What's wrong, Kururu?"

Kururu gave a dark chuckle. "I think it's time to gather the bodies…"

Before anybody could venture to ask, Mois screamed when she looked out of the gaping hole in the airship. Everybody else followed her gaze and froze when they saw the bodies of Zoruru and Dororo on the ground.

/

Natsumi gripped her head. "Ow…"

She was in a tremendous amount of pain, and could hardly even remember why. It was then that she remembered what had happened. "Giroro!"

She leapt up, and the laser wings of the power suit opened up and sent her soaring into the air above the treetops. "Ugh, I hope I can find _someone_…huh?"

A short while away, Natsumi saw the airship on the ground in a clearing. Without any hesitation, she flew in that direction and landed right next to the opening in the airship. She poked her head in, ready to say some deadpan greeting, when a horrifying sight greeted her. Zoruru and Dororo were lying on the ground, both covered in their own blood, as Pururu applied bandages, lathered on medical creams, and injected syringes while ordering the others to bring her this medicine or apply that bandage.

Keroro finally the question that was on everybody's mind: "How are they doing?"

Pururu sighed. "Zoruru will be an easy recovery. The cut was clean, and although he lost quite a bit of blood, the bleeding is almost over."

There was a brief silence before Keroro continued, "And Dororo?"

Pururu's expression turned harsh. "Dororo…he's still alive. For now."

Keroro gulped. "'For now'?"

"He's lost a lot of blood. The wound is huge, Keroro. The only thing that kept him alive was the fact that the black mass inside of him was killed instead." (This statement made Natsumi wonder how long Pururu had been on the island that she knew about the black masses.)

Keroro tried to go for the bright side. "But, if Dororo is alive and the black mass is dead, then that's good."

Pururu shook her head. "The dark mass should have left Dororo, but it didn't get the chance. Say, Keroro…do you know what happens with buildup of bacteria?" The question was, of course, rhetorical, and Pururu didn't wait for an answer. "It clogs up the system and makes you sick. It's even worse if the bacteria are dead. It has nowhere to go. So, in this case…"

Keroro looked down on Dororo's body. "…He doesn't have long."


	11. Chapter 11

"What happened to Koyuki?"

Everyone in the airship turned to look at the large hole that now served as the entrance, where Natsumi stood, disheveled and injured, but back to her normal state of mind. The silence made Natsumi angry and worried. "I said, what happened to Koyuki?"

There was more silence before Pururu answered, "We don't know."

Natsumi bit her lip. "But…she wouldn't leave Dororo. Not in that state he's in."

Even more silence. What had happened while Natsumi was possessed by the dark mass? She had no clue, but now she wanted answers.

Mois looked down, one arm crossed over her chest and holding onto the other arm. "I'm sorry, Natsumi. We haven't seen Koyuki…you could say; missing in action?"

Natsumi clenched her fists, and her teeth dug into her bottom lip even more. "What…what about Giroro?"

There was another long lapse of silence before Kururu chuckled. "Would you like to see for yourself?"

Natsumi jolted, and then ran to the opposite end of the airship, where Kururu sat chuckling before a computer screen. "What do you mean? What happened to Giroro?"

Kururu chuckled even more. "I managed to get some interesting footage. I think you'll enjoy it. Kukuku…"

He pressed a button, and the computer screen became a wave of static, and then showed video footage taken from the sky. Natsumi felt her jaw clench as she saw herself and Giroro battling on the screen. What was the outcome? Had she hurt Giroro? Natsumi couldn't remember a thing.

On the screen, Giroro was climbing onto the branch of a tree, and then lunged at Natsumi. His foot had slipped, and his jump was clumsy. Giroro's tumbling descent was stopped when his lips crashed into Natsumi's, and Giroro fell to the ground.

Kururu was giggling madly, and Natsumi was just staring at the screen, her jaw open wide in shock. Gasps and giggles were heard all around, and only then did Natsumi realize that everyone in the airship who could walk gathered around the computer screen to watch the video footage.

On the screen, Natsumi fell to the ground, and the black mass left her body. Giroro ran over to her, not even aware of the dark mass until it crashed into him. Giroro fell to the ground, and then got up again, and ran away from Natsumi.

The computer screen went blank, and Kururu turned to Natsumi. If Kururu could smile, he would be smiling right now. "Does that answer your question?"

Natsumi just stayed silent, her jaw still hanging loose. Finally, she was able to let out, "What…?"

Keroro suddenly fell to the ground and started rolling on the floor, laughing. "OH MY GOD! Giroro finally kissed Natsumi-dono! And she can't even remember!" he managed to choke out.

Natsumi lifted Keroro and started to strangle him. "GOD DAMNIT, STOP LAUGHING!"

Most everyone else had stopped laughing by now, fearing Natsumi's wrath. Natsumi finally stopped strangling Keroro and dropped him on the ground. She started to walk towards the opening in the airship.

Fuyuki started to move towards Natsumi. "Wait, Nee-chan! Where are you going?"

Natsumi turned around. "I'm going to find Koyuki and Giroro! And when I do, I'll beat the crap out of whoever's responsible for all of the madness here!"

Right as Natsumi turned to leave, Keroro said, "Hey, when you find Giroro, could you give him a kiss for me?"

A laser sword to Keroro's face, and Natsumi was gone.

/

Oh God.

What was this place?

Why was it so dark?

Where where where where where where where

Where was she?

It was pitch black.

She hated it.

There was a sudden ripple in the darkness, as if it was water. The ripples made the darkness disperse, and Koyuki had the shut her eyes with the sudden light. When she was able to open her eyes, she found herself in the middle of a desert. There were mounds of sand as far as the eye could see. The sun above was scorching hot, its burning waves making sweat form on Koyuki's face. But the heat was nothing. The immense pain in the palms of her hands and her feet were unbearable, it was as if someone had stabbed…

Koyuki felt sick when she turned to her left to look at her hand. A large, rusty nail pierced her hand, holding it on a thick wooden board. She looked at her right hand, and then her feet; they were pierced with nails as well, and Koyuki realized that she was a part of some sick crucifying ceremony.

"Are you having fun up there?"

Koyuki jumped when she heard a cold voice behind her. Footsteps walked around the cross, muffled by the sand. Koyuki found herself glaring at the man before her; the same man who had kidnapped her and had…had…

Despite the dry feeling in her mouth, Koyuki managed to gather a large mouthful of spit, which she then sent to the man's face.

The man took out a clean white handkerchief and wiped the spit off his face, as if it was no big deal. "You might want to save that. Unless you want to die of dehydration."

All that Koyuki could manage to say in response was, "You sick bastard."

The masked man put on a mocking smile. "Come now, Koyuki, what happened to all that spunk you had before?"

Koyuki just glared at the man.

A sigh, and the man said, "You really are difficult. Just like that friend of yours. What was his name again? Oh, yes…" The man smirked and began to examine his fingernails, clearly wanting to aggravate Koyuki as much as possible. "Lance Corporal Dororo."

Koyuki grit her teeth, trying not to lose control of herself. "What do you want from us?" she said, her voice trembling with the contained rage.

The man looked up from his fingernails, a nonchalant expression on his face. He began to walk towards Koyuki. "Really? Are you really asking that? I thought it was obvious." His face was right in front of Koyuki's now, and he tilted his head up to make eye contact with her. "I want control of Earth."

Koyuki deepened her glare. "Why?"

The masked man stepped away from Koyuki and sighed. "I suppose I'll show you myself, Koyuki."

The man and the desert background started to swirl, and it was sucked into darkness.

It was like the entire area around Koyuki was a sort of movie screen. She could still feel herself nailed to the cross, but everything else was gone. She was now in the middle of a pure white laboratory, with four Keronians in white gloves and medical masks fiddling with control panels. In the centre of the room, an unconscious black Keronian sat in locked in a metal chair, which was suspended in the air and surrounded by a thick layer of glass. Wires went through small holes in the glass and connected to the Keronian, and two or three IVs were injected into each arm.

One of the scientists, a yellow female Keronian, bit her lip as she flipped a switch. "Now…now inserting the substance into the bloodstream." She seemed nervous, as if what she was doing was wrong.

Blue liquid began to move up the IVs and into the black Keronian's arms. Once the liquid went into his arm, he moaned a bit, and squirmed in his seat.

Another Keronian scientist, this one dark grey, flipped another switch. "Beginning the DNA mutation of subject 42-B," he said.

The other two scientists said nothing, but the yellow Keronian bit her lip. "Say…Kuroro? What do you think...well…what do you think he did to deserve this?"

The grey Keronian, now known to be Kuroro, turned to the yellow Keronian. "I dunno. Murder, conspiracy, smuggling…it could be almost anything."

The yellow Keronian twiddled her white-gloved fingers in her lap. "Yeah, but is anything bad enough to deserve…well…_this_?"

Kuroro sighed and raised his hand to his temple. "Inono, you are far too innocent. It doesn't matter if subject 42-B deserves it or not. The lab bought him for the sole purpose of this experiment, along with the forty-one others. Purchased just for Experiment B."

Inono twiddled her fingers for a few more seconds, and the only sound was the whirring of machinery. Inono finally said, "What is his name?"

Kuroro looked up from the control switch. "Pardon?"

"His name. What is his name?"

"Inono, that's none of our—"

She moved over to a computer next to the control panel and typed in seemingly random numbers at a rapid pace. After a few moments, Inono sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Jikeke. That's his name."

Kuroro sighed in exasperation. "His name doesn't even matter anymore."

One of the other scientists, this one a deep purple with glasses resting on his face, interrupted Kuroro's and Inono's conversation. "The final stage of the DNA mutation can start now. Are you ready?"

Kuroro nodded, but Inono looked with despair at the glass case that contained Jikeke. "I'm so sorry…"

The four Keronian scientists began typing, flipping switches, and pushing buttons. This went on for about a minute when Jikeke began to scream. He writhed inside of his chair as the wires sparked with electricity. Inono winced at Jikeke's cries of anguish, but continued to do her job.

Koyuki winced as she watched Jikeke writhing in the metal chair. What was the point of this? Why was the masked man showing this to her?

Koyuki's answer came the next moment, when the Keronian began to melt. It began slowly, and Koyuki hardly noticed it; it just started with a small drop of black liquid fell from Jikeke's fingertip. More drops of black liquid then followed suit, until Jikeke looked like something in a painting by Salvador Dali. Koyuki understood what this meant; this was how the dark masses came to be.

All that was left was a black puddle on the floor of the glass cube. Inono looked at it like she was about to die, but Kuroro smiled up at the dark liquid that was once a person. "The experiment was a success."

Koyuki gnawed on her lip as the scene swirled into darkness again. When the vision reformed, there was a small lake with a tree next to it. There were grasslands as far as the eye could see. A small girl in puffy purple clothing sat next to the lake, picking at grass. Koyuki blinked at the girl, and realized that she looked like an Angolian.

Out of nowhere, a large black mass attacked the girl. She screamed as she fell into the lake next to her, and the black mass dove into the water and held her under. A few bubbles escaped and popped on the water's surface, but within a minute, everything was still.

The scene swirled into darkness, and then another scene appeared. It was a small prison cell with only a toilet-sink hybrid and a small bed. A dark grey Keronian sat on the bed, sighing to himself in a melancholy state. Koyuki realized that this was the same Keronian who was in the lab. Kuroro.

Another Keronian who appeared to be a prison guard entered the cell. "You have a visitor," he said.

Before Kuroro could say anything, Inono walked in. "Kuroro…is it true?"

Kuroro snorted. "What's true? That Experiment 42-B escaped at the Angolian base on my watch and killed a girl? Because yes, that is true."

Inono shook her head. "I'm not asking that. I'm asking…is it true…that you were sold to…?"

Kuroro looked at Inono with hesitation before looking away. "Yes. I'm going to be a part of Experiment B now. Just like Jikeke."

Inono twiddled with her fingers. "And…you're doing nothing to try to stop it?"

Kuroro shrugged. "Why should I? They all think that I ordered 42-B to kill that girl."

"But you didn't!"

There was silence, and then Kuroro sighed. "Even if I managed to get out of prison alive, I would be killed. I know too much about all the experiments. They would be afraid that I would try to sell the experiments, or begin a new company and outdo ours. Both situations suck. So I might as well go with the one where I survive."

The prison cell was completely silent. Inono turned back to the door. "Fine. I'll be going then. It…it was nice knowing you, Kuroro."

Another swirl of darkness, another scene. Again, there was the pure white lab. The only difference from the last scene in this lab was that Kuroro was the one in the glass cube now. The seat where Kuroro once sat was now occupied by an orange Keronian with a cigarette sticking out between his teeth.

The same purple Keronian from last time said, "The final stage of the DNA mutation is ready."

The orange Keronian took a drag of his cigarette. "Alrighty. Ya ready, sweet cheeks?"

Inono frowned at the sketch ball trying to flirt with her. She turned to the glass cube with Kuroro inside. Although Inono did not say anything, it was clear that she was just thinking, "I'm sorry."

Kuroro knew that Inono pitied him. He snorted and closed his eyes. He was just trying to be a bigger person, trying to show that he didn't give a shit what happened to him, even as he began to melt into a black pool.

The scene swirled again, and now there was the cockpit of a Keronian ship. Koyuki nearly gasped when she recognized who was inside.

Garuru stood with his arms crossed. "I don't understand how this new experiment will help with the Pekoponian invasion."

Pururu turned around in her chair to look at Garuru. "I'm not quite sure, but they say that the experiment's strength is immense."

Garuru snorted. "Does anyone know what the experiment actually _is_? Because as far as I know, there's just a large metal box in the holding bay, nothing more."

The scene swirled into black, and then Koyuki found herself in the desert again. The masked man stood in front of her. "Do you understand now?"

Koyuki struggled to find any words, but she finally managed to stutter out, "But…you...Kuroro?"

In one swift motion, the masked man was perhaps one inch away from Koyuki. "I thought you would understand that I have no past, I just am what I am right now until I morph into something else."

Koyuki grimaced at the man so close to her. "I think that the one here who doesn't understand this is you. You do have a past, and what you just showed me proves it."

The masked man smirked. "But what if what I showed you never even happened, and I showed it to you just to toy with your mind?"

Koyuki smiled back. "If it was a complete lie, then showing it to me would be a complete waste of time."

"Not if I wanted to toy with your mind."

"But what if you showed me the truth, and now you're trying to convince me not to believe it?"

"So you really believe that what you saw was the truth?"

"Yes I do…Kuroro."

The masked man paused, and then stepped back from Koyuki. "You know what? I like playing this game with you. We might have time to play again later. After I kill your friends, of course."

Koyuki glared at him. "I don't care if it's me, or one of my friends, or someone on the other side of the world. No matter what it takes, we will defeat you."


End file.
